One way ticket to Hell
by Merucha
Summary: When Zoro gets himself hurt in battle yet again, someone gets extremely irritated and takes matters into his own hands. Luffy isn't about to let his friend go, though, and he, Sanji and Nami have to go further than ever to get him back.
1. Prologue

Aboard the Going Merry, everything was in peace and quiet.

"GYAA! LUFFY, GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!"

"OW! OW OW OW, IT BIT ME!"

"JUST LET IT GO, LUFFY!"

"NO! I LIKE HIM!"

"Didn't he just bite you?"

Well, as quiet as it can get on a regular basis.

Luffy had recently discovered a new type of fish. It's grey, wet and extremely slimy appearance had Luffy fascinated enough to dive in to the sea after it, not caring that he couldn't swim. All that fit in his mind was the slimy grey fish with the strange beard on it's head. After all, how often do you see a bearded fish? And a slimy one at that.

Sanji, who had been out on the deck serving fresh fruits and drinks to Nami and Robin, had to quickly excuse himself from the divine angels he was fawning over to dive in before the idiot got himself drowned, eaten or burnt. How does someone get burnt in the ocean? This is Luffy we're talking about, remember? Anything is possible.

After scooping his captain up like a cat fishing a goldfish out of a tank, Sanji had to go and change clothes. Such an unmannered attire as soaking-wet clothes were intolerable whilst in the sweet company of ladies.

Luffy, however, once his strength was regained, was all about the beard-fish. The fish-or Mister Beards as Luffy had decided to name it- didn't seem at all too happy to be on the deck of the pirate ship. It's tiny yet unmistakably sharp teeth were sticking out of his mouth like a warning sign and he flashed his fins and tail dangerously. Maybe he's hungry? Luffy thought. If someone wasn't feeling well, on a beautiful day such as this, it had to be the only reason. Luffy just fished Mister Beards out of the sea, so he couldn't be thirsty. It couldn't be gas either, for as far as Luffy's knowledge went (which wasn't all too far), fishes did not do anything of the sort. So, in conclusion; the fish had to be hungry.

Eyeing the deck, Luffy's vision locked onto Nami's refreshments, freshly served by Sanji. Scooting ever closer, fish in arms, Luffy stretched his tongue to capture one of Nami's fruits.

Unexpectedly, Nami turned around, thinking she smelled something fishy[1]. Twisting her upper body to locate the smell, she felt something slimy touch her hand. Looking down, she noticed something like a worm, or rather a thick, pink snake, curling it's way towards her dessert. "What the- ew, LUFFY!" Nami yelled upon seeing the rubber man's tongue snaking it's way towards her delicious dessert. "What do you think you're doing? Get that away from me and my fruit!"

"But Nami" Luffy protested, "Mister Beards's hungry! Look!" And he tossed the now suffocating fish straight into Nami's lap, on her new skirt. But that wasn't something Nami was currently worried about, although she certainly would be later, because the fish looked at her with his beady, black eyes and strange beard- and snapped it's jaws straight at her.

"GYAA! LUFFY, GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!"

Thus, chaos.

The escapade went on for quite a while, and managed to evolve into the chase of Chopper running away from Mister Beards, Luffy running after the fish, who was now frantically trying to escape this madman's ship, Nami, who was chasing Luffy after noticing the slimy, wet stain on her new skirt, and Sanji, chasing Nami in order to wash said skirt (and preferably take it off himself). Once Luffy had actually caught Mister Beards and attempted to swallow him whole, and Nami had capture Luffy and begun strangling him, in effect making him choke on the fish, Usopp suddenly interrupted their funny little game.

"O-o-oi, Nami, hey-Sanji, could you guys, um-what I'm trying to say is-"

"Spit it out, Usopp, I haven't got all day!" Nami still wouldn't release Luffy's neck from her grip of death. Lucky bastard, Sanji thought.

Usopp fretted a bit at Nami's outburst, then straightened up and took a breath.

"What I'm trying to say is, I saw a pirate ship and they're currently chasing us, and I think they just shot a cannonball at us."

On cue, a powerful boom erupted from behind them and the splash of a heavy lead cannonball hitting the sea's surface followed.

Yes, a normal day indeed, it would seem.

Sadly, it'd turn out to be a bit far from the normal.

So, is this OK so far? A person named Rea (-Arashi-Storm-Guardian-) asked if I were to write any continuous stories. Thus, I decided to give it a try. Should I go on?

P.S This whole editing story/adding new chapter thing has me really confused O~o

[1] See what I did there?


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again, everyone… anyone? Fmdevil encouraged me to make another chapter, so here it is. Enjoy if you can!**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own One Piece. But do I really need to tell you that?

**Warnings: **May contain heaps of LuffyZoro friendship because I'm such a sucker for it.

**Note: **This actually isn't meant to be all that angsty, thought there will be angst chapters and chapters at a time. It's more af a mix of stuff.

The unfamiliar pirate ship sailed under the jolly Roger of a small, unusually circular skull with a scrawny black beard and a huge cigar in it's mouth. The man on the jolly Roger, presumably the captain of the ship himself, stepped out onto the railing and spoke to the gathered crew.

Upon hearing about the pirate ship, Luffy immediately bounced his way to the back of the ship, nearly falling overboard in the progress. Sanji had followed shortly after, mostly to make sure his captain didn't cause himself or the others trouble. Robin appeared seemingly from out of nowhere, epically startling Zoro in the progress, who had woke himself from a nap to see what was going on.

"Ah, I believe that's the pirate ship of Black Silas. He's supposedly quite the charmer." No one was surprised of Robin's information regarding the pirate. Her mind seemed to serve as an endless well of knowledge, and made you wonder why it didn't'overflow.

No one was surprised, but a couple two were shocked.

" 'Black' Silas? He must be dangerous! Is he going to attack us?" Chopper looked pleadingly to Robin, which he probably shouldn't have done. Robin regarded him with a sleek smile and a nod. "Yes, Doctor-san, I believe he is."

"He IS?"

Usopp, standing next to Chopper, stretched and yawned exaggeratedly and started walking towards the cabins. "WELL, I suppose I'll go repair that cannon Luffy broke last week. Call me if you need any help, you guys, I'll just be doing my job." Stalking nearer what he hoped was safety, he was stopped my Nami's grab at the suspenders of his overalls. "You're staying and you're fighting."

Usopp gulped. "Fight? ME? Oh Nami, you know I never run away from a fight, I just… uh.. Didn't think we were going to fight at all! Right, Luffy? We don't need to bother, Do we?"

Luffy returned Usopp's disguised plead with a cocked eyebrow. "Of course we do, Usopp. Are you an idiot?"

The Pirate known as Silas now directed his words towards the Straw Hats. He looked very similar to his flag; a bristly black beard stuck out from seemingly all around his face and a comically huge cigar was protruding from his mouth. But, most noticeable of all, was his height. He was just a smidge bigger than Chopper.

Clearing his throat and raising his sword, he addressed them not too politely.

"So, you Straw Hat scumbags, I hear yer the fear of the seven seas, Am I right? I Silas, have come to offer ye a challenge; yer crew versus my crew, a battle of life and death. Interested?"

Not really getting what the term 'Battle of life and death' meant, Luffy turned his head. "No, I don't really like that. Why would I be interested in letting you kill my crew? Can't we just fight like normal? I kind of want to kick your ass."

Silas paused for a minute. This couldn't be right. This supposed captain was just a kid; and a stupid one as that. And he was supposed to be the most powerful pirate in the vast sea? Bullshit.

"I see ye intend to chicken out on my challenge. I guess yer not as big as the rumours told, eh? If you beg, I may give you mercy. After I tear that stupid old straw hat to pieces."

The young man suddenly perked up at Silas's words. "What was that?" He inquired much like one asks how the weather is.

Silas sneered, thinking he had hit a tender spot. "I said; I'm going to tear that ugly excuse of a hat to pieces and make ye choke on them, ya brat."

The boy in the red vest now stood up on the railing. Silas instinctively backed up a bit. The boy suddenly looked much more mature and intimidating. The straw hat Silas had insulted was shadowing his eyes, and Silas briefly wondered if he had messed up and now had to fear for his life.

The boy lifted his head up, revealing not a frown or a snarl of anger, but a challenging grin and piercing eyes. Loudly enough for Silas to hear, he addressed his crew.

"Hey, you guys," Luffy kept staring at Silas, not turning to face his friends as he addressed them, "do you mind if we go kick this guy and his crew's ass?" Narrowing his eyes a bit, he continued. "He insulted my hat." In response to his words, none of them spoke an outright 'yes'. Sanji lit a cigarette, Zoro clicked his swords open, Usopp quivered and Chopper gasped, Nami sighed, and Robin chuckled.

"After you, captain."

_Oh Nami, you know I never run away from a fight._

**Usopp, you're a terrible liar.**

"_Of course we do, Usopp. Are you an idiot?"_

**That must hurt, coming from the biggest idiot alive.**

**So, this chapter was really short. Sorry about that.**

**There will be more action in the nest chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again, people. **

**This chapter is more action-like, although this is my first time writing action of any kind, so don't be afraid of saying what I need to fix. I like to improve ****J**

**I know it took a while to get started, but we're getting closer to the plotline, honest.**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own One Piece. But do I really need to tell you that?

**Warnings: **May contain heaps of LuffyZoro friendship because I'm such a sucker for it.

**Note: **This actually isn't meant to be all that angsty, thought there will be angst chapters and chapters at a time. It's more af a mix of stuff.

Nami heaved a sigh. This was the sixth, the _sixth _time this month they were assaulted by unfriendly pirates. Six times this month had they been in a battle, and that wasn't counting the marines and occasional Sea Kings. Ever since Alabasta, they had constantly been hunted. Beating Crocodile and the other Baroque works agents had made them even more infamous than before. That, of course, caused them to constantly be hunted by various people for various reasons.

But, she thought to herself, it hadn't really been a problem. Everyone seemed to have advanced to a new level after leaving the desert country. They were all stronger than ever.

Turning her head towards the other pirate's ship, she observed her crewmate's fighting tactics for a while.

Sanji was surrounded with a surly bunch of pirates, each of them with at least two weapons at hand. In spite of being surrounded and with limited space, Sanji fought back in his graceful and -dare she say it?- elegant manner. He lightly jumped in the air, higher than any normal person could, of course, and landed on top of the man leading the group of attackers.

Balancing there like an acrobat, he neatly jumped every time someone would try and land a hit on him. And every time Sanji dodged, which was _every_ time, the blow or slash would instead fall on the unfortunate head of the guy Sanji was tip-toeing on.

Having enough of the game, Sanji jumped down landing on his hands, and kicks flew in all directions. Needless to say, he was shortly surrounded by fallen pirates. Quite happy with his work, he let out a trademark blow from his cigarette, never losing his cool or letting down his appearance.

Not a hair was out of place.

Nami's gaze turned to the left as she saw something red flash in and out of her vision. She needn't even guess what it was.

Shouts of 'Gomu Gomu No-' followed by terrified shrieks of the enemy were more than enough to make it clear that Luffy was having the time of his life.

Grinning ear to ear, he laughed whole-heartedly as he let his arms snatch back from stretching.

A Gatling gun always proved effective, sometimes even too much so.

Bodies were no raining from the air, landing with a splash in the sea or a thud on the deck. It reminded Nami ironically of a song.

"See?" Luffy called out to no one in particular. "You shouldn't insult my hat. Man, you guys are weak. " He clicked his tongue and shook his head, acting like he was telling off a little kid who had scraped his knee. "You really should eat more meat. It makes you strong, you know. Now…" he picked up one of the semi-unconscious pirates by the collar and lifted him to his eye level. "Tell me where your captain is so I can kick his ass." The pirate victim of Luffy's choice for a guide, unable to speak from lack of teeth, pointed to the abaft. Luffy grinned. "Nehehe, perfect. Thanks a lot, old man."

Throwing the man about a meter away, Luffy stormed to where the man had pointed. Nami almost felt sorry for this Silas guy. You really don't insult Luffy's hat, like you don't insult Zoro's katana or Sanji's… well, women.

Speaking of Zoro's katana, where was he? Normally, you couldn't miss him in a battle. Not only was he usually in the midst of the great fight, but he also stood out from the common group, much like everyone in their crew.

The clinging sound of swords and a scream of agony came from the astern convinced Nami Zoro was just on his normal killing spree. Honestly, the guy was so barbaric.

A man that had managed to make his way onto the going Merry shook Nami out of her thoughts as he advanced at her, gun aloft. Nami was caught off guard, and she fumbled with her clima-tact. Letting out a shriek as she dropped it out of panic, she closed her eyes and shielded herself with her hands. The man lunged at her.

_Thank God, a woman. I was beginning to think this whole ship was filled with monsters. _

The pirate's view of women needed to be corrected, however, since shortly after this thought had run trough his wee little head, a delicate, tan female hand neatly snapped his neck.

Nami opened her eyes, unsure of what just happened. The familiar floral scent brought her attention to Robin, who was standing on the other ship, arms crossed in her _fleur_ motion.

"I thought you needed some help, Navigator-san. Are you unharmed?" She called out to Nami, having to shout because of the distance of the two ships, and because of the roar of battle.

Despite the question, Robin was completely at ease, as she always was. She smiled lightly to the ginger haired girl.

"I'm fine, Robin, I just zoned out for a bit. Thanks." Nami returned the smile. Having an older woman look after you sure was handy. Not only was Robin incredibly useful in battle and out of it, but she balanced out the number of genders on the ship. Being surrounded with guys all the time, Nami would have gone crazy if Robin wasn't around.

Robin nodded to her and walked back to battle, as elegant and poised as ever. _She might as well be taking a walk in the spring,_ Nami thought. That was another good thing about Robin; she didn't panic or get swept away during battle.

Sanji, Luffy, Zoro, Robin and Chopper were fighting on the deck of Silas's ship, whereas Nami and Usopp were on the Going Merry's. Usopp was both shooting from his slingshot and the cannon, never missing a target. Despite being a bit cowardly at times, he really had an eagle's eye. And he helped Nami feel normal. Everyone else was inhumanely strong, even Chopper, who was the youngest and most innocent of them all.

Said Chopper was currently in a corner, shivering under the stares of a few of the pirates.

"Is that- a _deer_? " One of the pirates poked Chopper with the toe of his boot. Much to the man's ultimate terror, Chopper transformed to his Heavy Point, his biggest form. "I'M A REINDEER, YOU ASS!" Having triggered Chopper's momentary rage, the men were thrown in all direction, up, down left, right and very far away. Never again would they confuse a reindeer with a regular deer.

Calming himself down, he morphed back to his smallest form, and looked around at the mess ha had made. He clapped his hooves over his mouth and his eyes widened. "Oh my goodness."

Nami couldn't help but giggle at the reindeer's antics. Sometimes he was just so adorable.

The battle went on for a while, because despite being weak, Silas's crew was big in numbers.

Luffy was sitting on the Going Merry, smiling merrily. He had been very successful in beating Silas, the other crew's captain, and had even make him take back what he had said about Luffy's hat.

Now, he was just waiting for the rest of his friends to join him. Nami, Usopp and Chopper were already next to him, also waiting for the others to return to the ship. Chopper was anxious to see if anything had happened during the fight, because something always happened. Some times were worse than others, but there was always something, and to a doctor, a something was everything. Every injury, no matter how small, had to be treated. He had already bandaged Luffy's hand, which had gotten splintered up when he accidentally punched trough the floor of the deck. Usopp burnt his fingers when lighting the cannon's fuse, and he was now nursing the red burn spots.

The rest of them seemed relatively fine. This battle hadn't been all that eventful. _Thankfully_, Chopper thought to himself.

Still, why were Sanji, Zoro and Robin taking so long? They should have been back by now…

Chopper gnawed on his lip. Something had happened, he just knew it.

Something bad.

And right he was.

Nami tapped the toe of her sandal impatiently.

"Honestly, where are those guys? Leave it to the bone-heads to screw something up. Which reminds me," She turned over to Luffy, "how come you're not causing any havoc back there? Are you feeling sick?"

Luffy smiled at her. "I never get sick, Nami. I guess I just wanted to punch that guy so bad I must have forgotten about everything else."

"Hey Luffy, since you hate them so much, want me to make sure they can't sail for a while?" Usopp gleefully turned to the cannon. "You know, just so they don't charge after us."

Luffy spun around, securing the hat on his head so that the breeze wouldn't swipe it off. "Yeah! Make them remember never to insult my hat again!" He let out a giddy laugh, almost forcing the others to laugh along. Usopp chuckled and lit the cannon. "Now watch as I, the great captain Usopp-sama, the greatest sniper alive, crack this puny ship's bones for ever even intending to step onto his precious ship." Luffy gave a disapproving grunt. "And," Usopp added, "for insulting Luffy's hat." At that, Luffy smiled even wider, if that were possible. Luffy let out a cry of victory as Usopp lit the match and let the cannonball soar through the sky like a black, wingless bird. The ball landed on the enemy ship's mast and broke it off with a satisfying crack. Usopp punched into the air, laughing along with his captain. The two started a strange combination of spinning around and what appeared to be a warrior's dance.

Chopper wanted to take part of the dance, but he couldn't find the confidence to. His inner doctor-self was still telling him something had happened, causing the rest of the crew to take so long. Nami seemed to sense what he was thinking, because she bent down to look him in the eyes.

"Chopper? You okay?"

_No, I have a feeling something bad happened, and I just know someone is going to call my name, and that means someone's hurt and I need to fix them, so I'm too worried to have fun._

Of course, he wouldn't say all that. He was brave; he didn't want to be considered a whiny kid. He was probably worrying for nothing.

He was about to open his mouth too tell Nami that yes, he was fine, jus a little concerned about the whereabouts of the others..

When the shout he feared the most in every battle carried across the two ships.

"CHOPPER!"

_It reminded Nami ironically of a song. _

**It's raining men, hallelujah, it's raining men…**

_That was another good thing about Robin; she didn't panic or get swept away during battle._

**Although I'm not sure, since I haven't cleared Alabasta arc, I think Robin might actually be a lot like me. Level-headed would be the best term, I believe.**

_Luffy was sitting on the Going Merry, smiling merrily._

**Yes, I'm a sucker for puns like these.**

**What's this? A plotline starting? Some actual action? More entertaining kind of reading material? **

**Wait and see ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ladies and/or gentlemen, chapter four. **

**Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own One Piece. But you already knew that, right? It belongs to Eichiirou Oda.

**Warnings: **Chapter contains mild swearing and blood.

_**[[[ONE WAY TICKET TO HELL]]]**_

Sanji looked around at the ground littered with bodies and blood. Why the hell had they even bothered taking these guys on? It wasn't even worth the time. They had no treasure, they were no challenge, and proved to be a pitiful bunch all in all.

Indeed, the had insulted Luffy's most treasured item. That was something they had to be punished for. No one, under any circumstances, should insult other people's treasures or dreams. It was the lowest way to strike, and the most sensitive pot to hit. If one didn't have dreams, one had nothing.

That, amongst other things, was something all of them had in common.

They had ambition; big dreams, and all of them planned on living them through.

And surly pirates like this Silas guy definitely wouldn't stop them.

Sanji strolled along the enemy's ship's deck, searching for anything valuable to bring to his Nami-san or for someone who was still conscious.

Sanji had been unusually restless lately; he needed some way to distract and amuse himself. He could always spar with the marimo, but that was a challenge Sanji didn't bother taking.

He knew that he and Zoro were almost completely equal in strength, although he'd never admit it to the man himself.

Both of them acknowledged and respected the other's strength and weaknesses, a silent understanding on their halves.

Speaking of the damned brute…

Sanji had noticed Robin going below deck to look for any information on anything or any source of data of any kind. Robin-chan was so clever, always thinking beforehand and always so reasonable.

And so astonishingly pretty, of course.

Zoro, on the other hand, he hadn't seen since he saw him slashing at some no-name pirates. Yes, pirates in plural sense. Like almost all of them, Zoro could hold his own in a fight against dozens of guys and well that.

In theory, he shouldn't really have had any trouble with these guys, so where was he?

Lost, no doubt. Probably decided to swim for the Going Merry and splashed his way into All Blue. Typical.

That guy wouldn't find his way out of a cardboard box, Sanji though irritably.

An image of a kitty Zoro stuck in a small crate, green ears drooping and tail swishing furiously in irritation, wormed it's way trough Sanji's mind, and he couldn't help but grin to himself.

To compare that brutal barbarian more fit for the stone age than our times to something so cute and innocent-the irony was almost solid.

Being snapped out of his thought of kittens and swordsmen… Kitsmen, perhaps…? Sanji noticed Zoro stumbling out of a hole on the lower deck. He didn't seem injured or hurt, maybe a little confused.

Sanji briefly wondered what had smashed a whole this big into the polished wood, for Usopp's cannonballs hadn't struck anywhere near this part of this ship, before coming to the conclusion it had either been Luffy or the swordsman himself. Robin's way of dealing with things was much too delicate to cause something to explode, but that expression fit well to the other two.

Noticing that Zoro started walking in the wrong direction, the complete opposite one of the Going Merry, Sanji belay his thoughts to try and call some sense into that idiot's green head.

"Oi, Zoro!"

Zoro turned around and, Sanji noticed, seeming a bit vary of himself, searched for the source of sound. Finding Sanji, he reluctantly let go of his swords, but didn't drop his stance completely. _Does he ever let his guard down?_ Sanji bit on his cigarette a bit harder. He didn't care for the man; but it annoyed him when people didn't trust him.

Not that he cared, of course. That idiot was welcome to do whatever he wanted.

"Yo, Sanji. Anyone left on your end?"

"None. These guys were cake."

Zoro seemed to be about to respond, his mouth opened and he drew a breath, but the cracking sound of gunfire drowned out his words.

A heavy black ball flew trough the air, cutting trough the mast above them. The mast cracked to splinters and fell down, it's pointy end headfirst.

Wait, pointy end?

_Crap. _

Sanji saw the coming moment in slow motion. The mast fell down, splinters and pieces of wood spraying in all directions like droplets of water, cutting trough the air as it fell from it's former throne.

Calculating the distance from the mast to the other man, the speed and the angle, Sanji's heart skipped a beat.

He cried out a warning to Zoro, a warning to get the hell out of there, to look out, to just _watch his damned ass_ and _RUN_, but too late.

Zoro turned around hearing the erupting crack of the mast, and despite the distance between them, Sanji could see the alertness in his eyes, the shock and animalistic instincts as he brought his hand up to protect himself.

He didn't manage to jump away in time, and the mast fell, fast as an arrow and heavy as a boulder-

_-straight __**trough**__ Zoro_.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

This was getting old. Luffy was really getting bored now. Why the hell were they taking so long? Were they having a victory party without him?

Nah, knowing Sanji and Zoro, they were probably fighting about how downed more men or something. They'd fight over the most bizarre things sometimes.

Robin had made her way to them shortly after Usopp had hindered the pirate's departure, a couple of books in one hand and a few pouches in others.

"Longnose-kun, I thought you might find these useful? It's gunpowder, not as elite as the type you like to use, but it's better to use the chance while they're at hand, is it not?"

She-or, her hands-handed him the pouches spoken of, and he accepted them gratefully.

"Thanks a lot, Robin, I'd never have thought of looking for that."

He smiled his best at her before running down to his favorite spot to put the powder away.

Robin smiled at his back. She knew he'd find this useful.

There really wasn't a thing he couldn't turn into something different, be it of use or not.

She'd seen him change a broken kettle into a silver bracelet for Nami, and a mis-sized cannonball into bullets.

Suddenly, a smooth voice- clearly Sanji's- sailed trough the sky, calling for Chopper. The voice, Robin noted, was rushed and edgy, as if scared or even angry.

It could only mean one thing.

Chopper sprung into action right away, using his Jumping Point to dash over to the other ship. He disappeared from their visions shortly, the remaining smoke of cannons, guns and dust swallowing him up.

"That was Sanji's voice."

Luffy's voice was unusually low and calm. While other people paced, raised their voices or shouted when worried, Luffy did the opposite thing.

He sat still and was quiet.

One of Robin's own talents was the ability to read people very well. But she didn't need to even ponder the expression now marring her captain's face. He was worried, worried about Sanji and Zoro and whatever could have happened to either them.

He really was a good comrade and friend.

"Captain-san, would you like me to check on them? Make sure they're alive and well."

Luffy was mute for a moment, then nodded gratefully.

"Thanks, Robin."

Robin nodded back and crossed her arms. Not only would this ease her captain's mind but hers as well; she was growing quite fond of this crew and it's antics. To lose someone now would be like a blow to the head.

Robin closed her eyes and mumbled the magic words, and an eye sprouted, inches away from the two characters she was worried about.

The scene was nothing short of horrifying.

**[[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

Blood.

Too much of it, way too much.

Holy hell, this was bad.

The broken end of the mast, the one that used to be connected to the lower half, lay stuck in the small crow's nest on the whole half.

The other, the one that had once pointed up to the sky but was now motioning downwards as if to signal the enemy's loss, was embed into the wooden deck.

And on the near middle of it, like a marshmallow propped on a stick for roasting, was Zoro.

Blood was blossoming from his gut and lower back, snaking down the remnants of the mast, down his now almost completely red shirt, and down his itch-black pants, pooling at his feet. Some of it was dripping from the corners of his mouth, forming a line of fluid down his neck.

Shit.

"Shit, SHIT! Zoro, are you dead?" The fact that Sanji used Zoro's real name and not a mocking nickname referring to his hair or other various traits, was enough to symbolize the direness of the situation.

He didn't dare touch him, in fear it would make things worse.

Sanji was no doctor, so he had no idea whether to move him or make him stay still, to get him off this, this stick or to let him be.

Zoro took the decision into his own hands, sparing Sanji the unpleasantness.

Drawing his swords with a half-grunt-half-couch, he lifted it just above his head.

It was a lot more straining than usually, Zoro noticed. Probably due to blood loss. He seemed to have a severe case of it, Well, better make the best of what we have.

"Are you crazy? What the hell are you doing? You probably shouldn't move, I already called for Chopper, he'll be here any second. "

Zoro, utterly ignoring Sanji, which he was very good at (it came with the practice) swung his sword down, cleanly cutting trough the heavy stake of wood intruding his body. Swinging it again, he cut behind his back, so that he was free from both ends. He really didn't like the feeling of being impaled with a stick. He felt like a meat ready for frying over open fire.

Now that he was loose, nothing stopped him from limply collapsing.

Before his injured body could hit the deck, Sanji reached out and managed to catch him.

Clutching him tight enough to keep him from falling but not tight enough to hurt him, Sanji carefully lay him to the side. The piece of mast still sticking out from both ends kept him from lying on the back, which was probably a bad idea anyway. Didn't want him to choke on his own blood, did we?

Which might already have happened.

Shit. Where the hell was Chopper?

His question was answered soon enough when he heard hooves thumping, the wood of the deck vibrating from the impact.

"Chopper! We're over here!"

_Try to stay awake for once, you stupid ass. Chopper's here, and you're going to be damn fine. _Sanji muttered in his mind.

Zoro was still holding his sword.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

_That guy wouldn't find his way out of a cardboard box, Sanji though irritably. _

**No, because he would cut his way out. Zoro doesn't need exits; he **_**makes **_**them.**

_Being snapped out of his thought of kittens and swordsmen… Kitsmen, perhaps…?_

**Yes, I make these type of puns as well.**

**Thank you very much for reading, if you did. If not, well…. **

**Since I'm new, I'd like to ask if this is confined as a short chapter or a normal one? I don't have much experience.**

**Also, that whole [[[ONE WAY TICKET]]] thing going on, it's to make line breaks more clear. For some reason, just having space or letters won't work, so I'm trying this.**

**Special thanks to fmdevil, who's been following my story, and IzumiTheMoogle, who's been incredibly helpful and nice. : )**

**Once again, thanks and stay tuned. We've got a bloody scene unfolding.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello, all, and welcome back. For the first time, I didn't upload the next chapter the day after the previous one. That's due to my lazyness. Also, sorry if my vocabulary isn't all that great, but seeing as how I'm not English (Far from it, actually) and have never even been there, I just use what I've gathered from school and movies.**

**I hope you enjoy, this one was a bother to write.**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own One Piece. But you already knew that, right? It belongs to Eichiirou Oda.

**Warnings: **Chapter contains swearing, blood, and icky parts that may make you cringe if you're sensitive.

**Red Voident Dragon: **Thanks for the reviews! I intended to make them destroy the mast more so that the enemies couldn't follow them, but they wouldn't be killed. Also, I needed something to keep the storyline floating. xD

**MASSEXPLOSION: **I like your name. Zoro doesn't die… this way, anyway. It's a surprise ;)

**Cy-grl: **Thanks, I appreciate it ^ ^

**Fmdevil: **So I have been told. Thanks, I do my best at lame puns x]

_**[[[ONE WAY TICKET TO HELL]]]**_

"Robin?"

The usually calm and preserved archeologist dropped her hands and opened her eyes. As soon as she did, Luffy noticed worry and… fear.

His heart sank to his stomach. When someone like Robin was visibly scared, it was nothing but bad news.

"Robin? Is Sanji ok?" He asked again with a little more drive behind his voice. He wanted to know if his friends were all right, and he wanted to know now.

"Cook-san is fine." Luffy sighed in relief. If Robin said so, he had to be. Robin wouldn't lie to him, especially not about something like this. But then, why was she so upset?

"However…" Robin continued and Luffy tensed. There was something wrong after all.

"Swordsman-san is… " She didn't manage to finish her sentence. Just then, Chopper cam galloping their way. Luffy cast one more glance at Robin and then stretched his neck to see the other ship better.

Robin looked at him expectantly. Everyone knew Luffy cared for his friends more than anything in the world, even his hat. If they were happy, he was happy, and if they hurt, Luffy hurt. And if their lives were on the line, which Robin could clearly see was the case here, Luffy would somehow blame himself and feel guilty, although he never voiced that particular feeling.

Luffy's head snapped back. Almost at the same moment, Chopper jumped on the Going Merry, with an unconscious Zoro in his furry, blood-soaked arms.

"Chopper-"

"There's no time to talk!" Chopper was in his doctor mode now, already running up to the medical bay. He called over his shoulder, "Robin! I need your help! Hurry!" Robin ran after him right away.

Luffy was left staring behind them.

His hands were shaking now, and his breathing was faster.

Zoro had a pole trough him. Luffy saw it; it went right trough his chest and came out on the middle of his back, just beneath his shoulder blades. And there was blood everywhere. Even after having Chopper carrying him, there were big splatters of blood on the deck, and even more had been on Choppers arms. And even _more _all over Zoro himself.

Usopp came out from stowing away the gun powder. "Hey, guys, when we get to the next port, we… Luffy? Hey, something wrong?"

Luffy's eyes were even wider than normal, and that was saying something. Usopp just then noticed all the blood. "What the- Luffy what's happened? Are you hurt? Say something!" Usopp grabbed his shoulders and shook him lightly. Luffy blinked out of his trance and looked at him. One look was all Usopp needed. His stomach suddenly felt like it was made of lead. And it wasn't the first time.

"Luffy, who's hurt? Is it bad?" He startled when Sanji then jumper aboard, hands in his pockets.

Luffy pulled away from Usopp and ran over to Sanji.

"Sanji, what happened? What happened to Zoro?" Sanji looked away, using his hair to shield his eyes. "Where is he? I made sure there were no enemies left."

"Sanji."

"Look, I don't want to talk about it, ok?"

He proceeded to go down to his kitchen, probably to chain-smoke and cook until he passed out from exhaustion. It was Sanji's way to relieve stress.

"Sanji. Tell me." Luffy stepped in front of him, deliberately looking him in his eyes.

Sanji bit his lip. The captain's calm, deadly serious tone was never to be taken lightly. Luffy only used it when a lot was at stake, or when he was heavily emotional, and apparently, this was one of these times. But Sanji still didn't dare to look at him.

"I don't know, ok? I was just talking with him, asking if he saw any more guys to beat up, and the ship's mast came down. It…" Sanji huffed. Saying it out loud made it sound more real, more…deadly.

Pulling himself together, he finished explaining so that he could go downstairs and be at peace while he silently freaked out.

"It went right trough him. Trough his chest."

A loud thump made them both turn around. Usopp was sitting on the deck, horror apparent in his eyes. He was shaking just as bad as Sanji's hands were, inside the safety of the pockets.

"Usopp?" Sanji expected them to react badly to the news, but not this badly. After all, Zoro was still alive… wasn't he?

"Usopp." Sanji tried again. No response. He looked at Luffy for help, but turning around, he saw Luffy had the exact same look in his eyes, if only a bit more raged. Did they know something he didn't know? Was Zoro already…?

No, no. _definitely_ no. It was impossible. If that was the case, Luffy would be going berserk right now.

So what was the problem? Usopp started talking, but Sanji had to strain his ears to hear him. The words were barely audible, and his voice was raspy.

"That cannonball… it hit the mast and… oh god…" Usopp was staring intently at a spot on the deck in front of him, still shaking like a leaf. Luffy suddenly darted past them and ran towards the medical bay.

Before he could open the door and peek inside, Robin came out. Her hands and white blouse were bloody and damp with sweat. "Robin?" Luffy tried. She looked down at him with her most serious expression. "It's best not to disturb Doctor-san. He's doing his best in there, and it's all we can ask for."

Luffy's knees threatened to buckle. True, he was sometimes slow and clueless, but he got the gist of serious situations like these. To say _'We can only hope for the best' _meant _'We need a miracle to make this work.' _In other words, Zoro was possibly dying and they couldn't help.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

Chopper hurriedly flipped trough a couple of books. On the bed next to him, Zoro was lying on his side. Chopper had managed to saw off the part of the stake that was sticking out, allowing him to access his chest and back better, but it was incredibly painful for Zoro.

Chopper didn't dare to give him painkillers; the only ones he had left were so strong they might knock Zoro unconscious. And if that happened, Zoro might stop breathing. And that was something Chopper wanted to avoid to the fullest lengths. More importantly, how was he going to get the stake out of the man's body? He couldn't just wrench it out; if he did that he might accidentally tear his organs to shreds. Another thing Chopper wished to avoid. But he couldn't leave it in either. Zoro had lost a lot of blood and it was still pouring out. Something had to be done, but try as he may, the tiny little doctor couldn't think of a way.

A muffled groan made Chopper turn to a very bloody Zoro.

"Zoro! Lie still, it's vital that you don't move!" Chopper worryingly looked at him, Zoro had his eyes closed but he seemed semi-conscious. "'Nt.. move if I could…. Gna sleep…" Zoro fell silent again and his head collapsed on the pillow, talking seemed to be too trying on the dying man.

"Zoro, I need you to stay conscious. If you fall asleep now, I can guarantee you will die." Chopper slapped Zoro lightly on the forehead, about the only spot on his body not covered with blood.

When he got no response, Chopper let go of his doctor stance for a split second to panic. "NO! ZORO STAY WITH ME! OPEN YOUR EYES, BASTARD! DON'T DIE YET!" He began to frantically slap him in the face. Each slap was followed with a 'bastard' or a 'don't die'. Chopper was started to sniffle when a big, warm, calloused hand grabbed his small hooves. Chopper's head twitched up to see Zoro conscious again, looking at him. "I aint gonna die, Chopper. Do what you think is best; I'm sure it'll be fine… Doctor." Zoro smiled at him before closing his eyes again and wincing. Having a pole trough your chest sure hurt like a bitch.

Chopper ran over to his table. Of course. What was he thinking, losing control and freaking out like that? And slapping him, even. A doctor had to stay calm and think logically at all times.

Zoro trusted him. Zoro trusted in his abilities, and he promised he wouldn't die yet. And Zoro never broke his promises_. 'Do what you think is best'_… And Chopper racked his brain, searching every corner for information, looking in every nook and cranny to find a way to remove something from someone's body without killing him in the progress. A light bulb lit over Chopper's head. _'Maybe…just maybe, if I calculate the timing correctly and the width of the wood…'_

It was risky; but Chopper had a plan.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

After Robin's detailed report of their comrade's situation, the air was heavy to put it lightly. A piece of roughly smoothed wood trough your body was no picnic. Neither was getting it out.

Luffy suddenly plomped down, sitting with his arms and legs crossed. "Yosh, I'm staying here until Zoro comes out." Due to the stares he got, he felt the need to explain himself. "Well, I can't sit here forever, right? So Zoro has to come out sometime." Luffy logic. You couldn't argue with it, nor did it make sense. _'He must be blissful in his happy little world'_, Sanji thought. _'Lucky naïve bastard_', he added as an afterthought.

However, even if Luffy did try to hide it behind his usual goofyness, he was pacing, gnawing on his lip and biting his nails on the inside. He tried to hide it because he didn't want his friends to be upset. One hurt shipmate was enough; he didn't need the others to wallow in worry too.

And Luffy was incredibly worried about Zoro. The man was strong; Luffy knew that first-hand. Not only had he endured a fatal slash from Mihawk, but he had also fought the next day, despite being heavily sick and wounded. And he had survived the fight, despite collapsing a few times and nearly getting himself killed, and fought Arlong while Sanji saved Luffy from the deep. And, Luffy thought with a smile, he had been drinking sake the same evening.

But, not only was Zoro good at living with fatal injuries, but he was the strongest person Luffy knew, too. When they fought in Logue Town, Luffy could feel it right away. Usually, when he fought his enemies, he could feel he was going to win. It was just a gut feeling that made him confident he wasn't going to die. Of course, Zoro would never kill him, but in that fight Luffy wondered if he really was going to win this time.

It wasn't just the strength; it was the determination, the sheer will of not giving up.

That's what made Luffy think Zoro would be ok.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

After hearing what Robin had to say from afar, Sanji turned back to Usopp. If Sanji had to guess the ominous feeling streaming from the boy, he would guess guilt. It was apparent in his eyes and the way he wouldn't use them to look at anyone. And that mumbling about the mast before. Usopp definitely had something on his consciousness. Sanji kneeled in front of him, blocking the spot Usopp had been staring at.

"Usopp."

Usopp finally looked Sanji in the eye, but backed away at the same time. He looked scared.

"I didn't mean to, Sanji! Really! I was just trying to.. To help, but I swear, I-"

"Usopp, what the hell are you talking about?" Now Sanji was started to be uneasy. What the hell had happened? Usopp's normally tan and healthy looking skin was a shade paler than normally, and he was acting like he expected Sanji to lash out and kick him in the face.

"I-I shot that cannonball. The one that sent the mast down, it was me."

…_Oh. _Sanji unconsciously clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Usopp must have noticed, because he backed even further away. "I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to, it was an a-accident! I wasn't… I didn't want to…"

Sanji flinched inwardly. Was he really this murderous-looking?

"Usopp, _chill. _I'm not going to kill you, ok? It was an accident, right?" Sanji blew smoke out before standing up. True, it was an accident, Usopp was just making sure no revenge-thirsty pirates would follow them. But, if Zoro somehow didn't… _make_ it, Sanji probably would blame Usopp, even if he had no right to. And if, just if, the mast had snapped Zoro's spine or smashed his pelvis, Zoro would definitely hold a grudge, too. If, if, if. And _if _Zoro came out fine and that was the end of that, everything would go back to normal and they'd gradually forget about everything.

_If._

Chopper suddenly kicked the door to the med bay open, which was pretty out-of-character for a little guy like him. He looked around, left, right, left again, until he finally found Usopp and Sanji. He dashed over to them as fast as his stubbly little hooves could carry him. "Usopp! Sanji! I need you to help me out! Could you come for a second?" He didn't wait for an answer but turned back and ran back where he came from. The serious and fierce expression on his face was easy to recognize; He was in full doctor-mode now, and he had a plan. Sanji proceeded to jog after him straight away. Without turning around to face his guilt-ridden long-nosed friend, he said quietly enough so only they could hear, "You were sorry about before, right? Now's your chance to do something about it." Then he headed towards where Chopper was waiting, hopefully with a good plan.

Usopp smiled gratefully at Sanji, although the latter couldn't see it, and ran after him.

"Here's the plan."

Chopper was standing at his table, so he was almost at eye level with everyone else. Robin, Sanji, Nami, Luffy and Usopp were all standing in front of him. No one had the urge to sit down, and it wasn't only the uncomfortable floor's fault. The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a bread knife and serve it to a hungry Luffy. Was tension edible? No one will ever know.

"It's a very risky one," Chopper continued, "But it's the only thing that might work. Zoro is currently unconscious, but he will need to be awake once we do this. What we're going to do is.." He took a small breath. This would make him sound like a lunatic. "We're going to light the wood on fire and burn it." The reactions came right on cue. Usopp's mouth opened a full 120 degrees to rival Luffy's rubber jaw-drop. Nami visibly flinched at the thought of having something inside you on fire, and Sanji's visible eye widened and he opened his mouth to protest. "Chopper, isn't that too risky? I mean, this thing is a little thicker than a branch. And besides, won't soot get inside him?"

"Yes, it is a big risk, but we really can't afford to lose more time. I can't pull it out, I can't leave it in, and it won't disappear by itself. So, it's basically a last resort."

A familiar, gruff voice from the back of the room made them all jump, even Robin seemed slightly disoriented. "What's a last resort?" All of them spun around, except Chopper, who was so startled he fell off the table. Luffy's face stretched into a moon shaped smile. Zoro's eyes were now open, though clouded by pain and exhaustion. He was panting slightly, sweat dampened his brow and his fists were balled up due to the intruding stake trough him, but it didn't stop him from scowling as usual.

"Zoro, you're up!"

"Zoro, you're up?"

"Zoro, you shouldn't be up!"

"How the hell can you be up?"

"Sleep well, swordsman-san?"

"What the hell, moss-head, you startled me!"

Zoro grinned weakly. "Why so jumpy, curly? Thought I was dead already?"

Sanji didn't even answer that. Why the hell was the idiot so calm about the idea of him dead? No one else was. "So, Chopper, any way to remove the…" Zoro coughed up a handsome amount of blood before grimacing in the pain it caused him.

"EEE! Zoro, you're not supposed to talk or move! At all!" Chopper rushed to his side. "Chopper, can't you give him analgesics or something?" Nami asked.

"…No. That's the most dangerous part of the operation. " Chopper turned so that he could face Zoro and the others at the same time.

"The only ones I have are too strong and might knock him out completely. If that happens, we won't know if he's choking on blood or if his heart stops until it's too late. We need him to be awake the whole time." Everyone, including Chopper himself, cringed. Having a stick inside you burnt to crisps was bad enough, but being awake in the process? It was like a hellish nightmare. Torture of the worst kind.

"I realize it's brutal, sadistic even, but it's for his own good." Chopper informed. He was on the verge of tears already. One of the bad tings about being a doctor was knowing what was best for everyone, when they didn't know themselves. People would think the doctor was being cruel when he was really trying to help.

A muffled shout from Zoro woke them all to their senses. It was true; they didn't have any time to waste. Something had to be done, here and now. Zoro definitely wasn't getting any better by the minute. He was coughing blood more rapidly now, his fists clenching and unclenching the sheets on the bed. He was gritting his teeth in pain, horrible, numbing pain.

"Sanji, go to Zoro's right side! Robin, his left side! Luffy, stand by his head! Nami, I need you to sit on his legs! Everyone, go, now!" Scurrying around, everyone obeyed Chopper's commands. Nami, though albeit hesitantly, sat down on Zoro's lower half.

"Usopp, you come here." Usopp went to stand by Chopper.

"Now, Zoro," the reindeer directed his words to the man, "I won't lie; this is going to hurt. A lot. But I need you to refer from moving the best you can." Zoro managed a small nod in acknowledgement, but refrained from talking. He was biting his teeth to keep himself from screaming as it was. "Usopp. I need you to light the wood on fire when I give the mark. Unless I say so, don't put it out. Try to keep it restrained, we don't want the entire ship burning down." Usopp nodded, bringing out his equipments. Since Usopp was a man of accuracy, having him control the fire was the best choice.

"Um, Chopper, what are we supposed to do?" Nami asked from on top of the swordsman. Sanji, Robin and Luffy were all thinking the same thing. He just told them to stand (In Nami's case; sit) there at the ready, not why or what they were supposed to do that for.

Chopper swallowed before telling them.

"Seeing as how this will be painful, you all need to hold him down. It's instinct; he will thrash and try to get away. You need to prevent that." Suddenly Nami felt very uncomfortable sitting there. Zoro was strong, he could easily fling her off. And the idea of holding someone down while he was in tremendous pain wasn't an appealing one. But it had to be done. Zoro was already started to lose consciousness.

"And Luffy." The reindeer turned to his captain. "This is very important. You need to keep Zoro awake no matter what. If he faints now, _he won't wake up again_. Understood?" Luffy twitched. Won't wake up again. Ever. If Luffy failed this, it meant Zoro would die, for real. No best swordsman in the world next to the pirate king. No adventures, no sailing the grand line, no nothing.

"Yeah, I got it." Then it left him no choice; Luffy couldn't fail. Simple as that.

"Alright, Zoro, brace yourself. Usopp, light it up."

Doing as he was told, Usop lit the wood on fire. The flames engulfed the top in remarkably short time, considering they hadn't used any oil from fear of some of it getting into Zoro's wound.

Chopper started dabbing at the area around the pole with disinfectants. The second the small cotton pad touched his torso, Zoro had to bite back a scream.

The fire was now eating away at the wood closer to Zoro's insides. The flames slowly but steadily approached Zoro's skin. On top of the searing acid-like pain from the disinfectants, he now felt his skin burning. His instincts kicking in, Zoro's knees were involuntarily brought up, nearly sanding Nami to the floor. She held on to the brim of the bed for dear life, though, holding his legs down. Normally he could send her flying in seconds, but in his already weak state, he couldn't muster the strength to lift her.

He could feel his mind leaving him, the pain retreating into the shadows of blissful unawareness. He felt himself slipping away, further into the deep….

Luffy looked down on his friend's pained face. To his horror, Zoro's eyes were closing and his grimace loosening. He was fainting.

"Zoro! Wake up! Chopper already said not to fall asleep!"

Luffy called in his ear. It resulted some, Zoro opened his eyes again, but shut them right away when the fire was literally inside him. "Gg-SHIT!" Judging by his well-disguised scream, having your insides on fire was quite painful.

Again, Zoro's hands and legs unintentionally went into spasm, leaving Sanji, Robin and Nami striving to keep him still. Had he not been weak from blood-loss, it would have been an impossible feat. Even in his current state, the adrenaline made him quite strong. Robin sprouted a few extra hands to help Nami, who felt like she was on a rodeo bull.

Zoro was muttering constant curses under his breath, desperately keeping himself from screaming in pain. If he let anyone see him like that, he'd never live it down.

Usopp was doing his best to keep the fire alive without letting it get out of hand. He was dreading the moment it would reach the man's organs. If it hurt now, it would be a pure, boiling pit of burning hell then.

Because of the stress put on his body, blood was oozing out from the gaping wound.

Chopper tried to clean it up as soon as it found it's way out, so that he could continue cleansing the wound. It was a hard, almost fruitless task.

The fire reached Zoro's direct inside. Not being able to contain himself any longer, Zoro cried at the top of his lungs. Doing so cause more blood to seep out.

Sanji was practically lying on Zoro's shoulder to keep him from hurting himself, or even others. Robin's additional hands helped a lot, but Robin herself was sweating from concentration and effort. Nami was doing her best too, but not succeeding as well as the others. Zoro had managed to knee her in the stomach once, and if the situation had been different, Sanji would have kicked his ass for it. Unfortunately, he was rather busy himself.

Usopp didn't have as difficult a task physically, but burning your friend from the inside when he can't protect himself was very trying mentally. Half of Usopp's mind was screaming at him to put out the fire and end Zoro's misery, but the other, more rational half told him to keep going. Chopper hadn't told him to stop yet, and Chopper was probably the only one who knew what he was doing in there.

Throat sore and bloody from screaming, Zoro was drifting out again. Luffy yelled in his ear, but nothing happened. He poked his forehead, but nothing still_. 'Oh no, this is bad. He needs to wake up, or he'll…'_

_**Die…**_

Luffy's eyes narrowed with determination. Holding his rubbery hand high, he slapped Zoro in the face with as much force as he dared. "Wake up, Zoro! You know you can't sleep now!" Zoro muttered something and opened his eyes just a crack, but closed them shut just as soon.

"Luffy, you need to keep him awake!" Chopper yelled to him. As if he didn't know that!

Luffy searched his head for more ways to wake him up. What did he usually do when poking Zoro wasn't enough? Sanji usually kicked him in the gut, but that probably wasn't a good idea right now. Neither was splashing him with cold water, or putting pepper under his nose. So what?

Bending low, Luffy tried talking to him in normal voice. "Zoro, you know you can't die yet. Didn't you make a promise to someone? I don't know the details, but I don't think that person will be very happy if you die now. Stay. Awake." Luffy's heart sank to the bottom of his stomach when the green-haired man replied. Although his voice was heavy with pain and fatigue, Luffy still made out the words.

"Luffy, please…."

Please wasn't a word Zoro was supposed to use. Zoro was supposed to be rude, and proud, and tough like a rock. Not vulnerable and hurt and… pleading. It made the hairs on Luffy's neck stand.

"Luffy! Don't zone out!" Chopper called Luffy to the unfortunate reality. The wood was almost completely burnt out with just a few centimeters left, but Zoro's breath was getting too slow. Chopper took a break from keeping the wound clean at the same rate it got soiled from ash to check for a pulse. It was almost too faint for him to feel.

'_That's it', _Luffy thought, _'time to bring out the secret weapon'. _He took off his trademark straw hat, his most precious item, and out it on the swordsman's head. Whispering in his ear, Luffy said the one thing Zoro couldn't resist. "Zoro, you promised you wouldn't lose again, so don't you die. _Captain's orders_."

The results were uncanny. Zoro came to his senses, just in time to hear Usopp shout "It's all out! Every splinter's been burnt!" and Chopper motioning for everyone to move away as he started to sew his wound shut. Thankfully, no organs had been torn, so no internal damage was done…. Well yes, almost every internal damage possible had been done, the man was _impaled_ with a _mast_ for god's sake, but nothing more than that.

Death was avoided on the Merry, yet again.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

About thirty minutes later, everyone was delighted to hear Chopper inform that Zoro was awake, sewn and bandaged. They even got the permission to see how he was doing.

When they entered the bay, Zoro was lying with his head propped up against a couple of pillows. He gave them a weak smile as they came in. Luffy let out a happy cry before attempting to tackle-hug Zoro, but was stopped by heavy-form Chopper.

"How you feeling, moss-head?" Sanji casually asked, though every person in the room could tell he was happy to see the other man alive.

"Hm, I don't know. Like I've been impaled, suffered loss of blood and had my insides burnt? I think that'd be a pretty accurate answer."

No one could hold in a nervous, relieved laugh. With Luffy's protests and Chopper's strict rules, and Zoro's irony and Sanji's well-meant insults, an air of normality settled over. The immediate danger was gone, for now.

"I don't believe it," Nami said a little later, "it actually worked. Chopper, you are a miracle worker, for sure." Chopper wriggled in his seat, laughing and stroking the back of his head like crazy. "Idiot! That doesn't make me happy, you know! I don't need your praise, bastard…. Ihihihi…"

_Funny, you look damn happy to me. _Nami laughed to herself. Finally, everyone was settling down.

"So, that's it, right? I don't need any more annoying surgery or gross medicine or anything?" Zoro asked from the bed. A hidden 'I'm going to be okay, aren't I?', Zoro style. Chopper nodded affirmatively. "Yup, you might have trouble eating for a few days, but you should be okay. I'll keep you under supervision, though, just in case."

Zoro seemed about to protest, but was interrupted by another voice.

An unknown voice, smooth and casual but with a strong hint of malice. A voice that didn't belong to anyone on the Straw Hat crew.

An intruder's voice. "You can't be serious? Come, now, this has gotten ridiculous."

Everyone looked around to confirm the source of the voice. Luffy's instincts told him this was a dangerous voice, and he needed to get rid of it. No one had seen him come in, no one had noticed him until he spoke. He had been spying on them.

Fists ready to fly if needed, his eyes searched the room. From the corner, furthest away from where everyone was sitting, someone emerged out of the shadows.

And shudders went down everyone's spine.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

**Oooh, mysterious ending? I can't believe I have five chapters and the real storyline hasn't even started. Sorry if this is boring. Have patience, please.**

**So, long chapter much? I hope it isn't a bother to read. **

'_Nt.. move if I could…. Gna sleep…_

**A.k.a Wouldn't move if I could. I'm gonna sleep.**

_Luffy logic. You couldn't argue with it, nor did it make sense. _

**Oh, so it's a mystery logic!**

"_Zoro, you're up!" "Zoro, you're up?" "Zoro, you shouldn't be up!" "How the hell can you be up?" "Sleep well, swordsman-san?" "What the hell, moss-head, you startled me!"_

**Can you guess who says what?**

"_Chopper, can't you give him analgesics or something?" _

**Analgesics are type of painkillers. Yes, I googled it.**

_Judging by his well-disguised scream, having your insides on fire was quite painful. _

**Orly? No shit, Sherlock.**

**Thanks for reading and stay tuned, please!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello again, and thank you for waiting for this one. Compared to what I've seen, I update quite fast, don't I? **

**I feel like I'm not doing too good on this. It's not as… graphically told as I wanted it to be.**

**At long last, the plotline has begun. Sorry for taking to long.**

**Disclaimer: **You already know I don't own One Piece. If I did, the show would've been cancelled after the first episode.

**Warnings: **Chapter contains swearing, out-of-characterness, some angst and creepy hands.

**Fmdevil**: Thanks, I hope you enjoy ^ ^

**Cy-grl: **thanks again, I hope this one's long enough J

**Red Voident Dragon: **I love you too ;)

No, this story, if I finish it, is definitely going to be a long one. I have at least 5, maybe more chapters left.

No, that last one was totally Robin. Couldn't you tell? O3o In all seriousness though, you switched Usopp and Luffy but got the rest right.

I'm sure you'll be surprised by this 'Mysterious character'…

_**[[[ONE WAY TICKET TO HELL]]]**_

As soon as the mysterious... man? - Luffy somehow had a feeling this guy wasn't completely human, but not an animal either, thought it was closer - stepped out of the shadows, everyone automatically backed away from him, making them gather closer to Zoro's bed.

The man, if you could call him that, didn't look all that odd at first inspection.

He was wearing a black suit, lined with gray. His pants were black to match, and so were his finely polished shoes. He had a blood-red tie on, loosely hanging from his neck, but most noticeable was the shiny, black ball hat with the red string on his head.

It was tipped low, so it shadowed the man's eyes while exposing the back of his neck. This man was also holding a cane, not to rest on, but more to complete his look. Like almost everything else on the man, it was black, but had a golden ball at the tip.

All in all, the man looked like someone getting ready for a cabaret on stage. As he stepped from the shadows into the semi-light of the cabin, his eye came to view. The hat still shielded the left eye, but the visible one was normal enough, although he had strongly apparent eyelashes only on his lower eyelid.

To be honest, the man was rather handsome, almost feminine, but an ominous aura surrounded him like a deadly cloud of gas, making him seem more threatening than good-looking, or a mixture of the two.

"Evening, ladies and gents."

The voice had a British accent, though not very strong. It was soft and soothing, almost deadly so. It was a voice that lulled you into security, then lashed out at you when you were asleep. It was inviting and kind, like Nami's voice right before she punched someone in the head.

"Who the hell are you?" Zoro was still seemingly startled, and for a reason.

Like Luffy, he had very good people senses, and his were simply screaming at him that this man was dangerous and hey should all run.

"My, my, my, quite hostile, aren't we, Roronoa Zoro? You've never been one to mind your manners."

"Though I agree with you on that one, I'm going to have to be rude and ask you the same thing. How did you get in here and who are you?" Sanji asked the man. "And why are you talking like you know me? I've never met you before." Zoro piped in, though that wasn't completely true. This man seemed awfully familiar, like a dream you couldn't remember forgetting. It was like Déja Vu; You know you've felt it before, but you can't for the life of you figure out where.

"But I do know you, Roronoa Zoro, better than you care to know." A malicious grin slowly spread on the man's face, making him look even more devious than before.

As fast as a flicker of light, the man wasn't there anymore. Once second he was staring in front of them, the next there was nothing there but thin air.

Confused, everyone looked around, but jumped when they heard the calming voice again, this time from behind them. The man was somehow sitting on Zoro's bed now, but no one had seen him even move a muscle. Zoro immediately jumped out of bed, ignoring Chopper's feeble protests, and backed as far away as he could, using the wall opposite of the mysterious man to support himself.

Nami and Usopp let out a small eek, mimicking Zoro and backing away. Robin, who didn't care to show any fear, was struggling not to yelp and scoot away like a beaten dog herself.

"Just who the hell are you and what do you want?" Sanji spit out. The man's presence was enough to make his hair stand on end.

The man acted as if he hadn't heard him. "Yes, I know you, Roronoa Zoro, and to tell the truth, I'm tired of you. It's like this;" The man stood up and began pacing, glaring at the floor in front of his eyes like it had doen something horrible to him, his former calm manner making way for an upset one. "you're constantly knocking on my door, and every time I go to answer, to finally let you in where you belong, you walk away. Do you have **any** idea how irritating that is?" He looked at a dumbfounded Zoro, his eyes wide with animalistic fury.

Every Straw Hat was confused, thoughts racing like betting horses in their heads, but one thought was the same in all of their minds_. This man is completely insane. _

"What do you mean, knocking on doors? Would you care to make things clearer and perhaps explain who you are?" Robin said. It wasn't a request, it was a command. The man's earlier, gentlemanly and laid-back manner returned. "But of course, my love, how could I deny a wish from such a stunning beauty?" Although it was flattery, it sounded more like a threat. Just to be safe, Sanji inched closer to Robin.

Taking a stance, the man bowed his head slightly, swinging his cane in circles. "I am what you all know, some of you better than others. I am your fear; I am your shadow. I'm what's under you beds and inside your closets. I'm what you pray to God for so he can protect you from me." A pause. "And I believe some of you ate my fruits." Looking each of them in the eye after his intriguing speech, he smiled even wider. "But you can call me The Devil for short."

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

Everyone just stared. The Devil? As in, Satan? This man was mentally psychotic. First, he claims Zoro's been knocking on his door, then he presents himself as The Devil. Chopper wondered briefly whether he should treat the poor man.

"I can tell none of you believe me. Frankly, my dears, I don't give a damn. I am the Devil, and I'm here to claim what's mine." All he gained were more stares, so he continued. "See here. You, Roronoa Zoro, have been nearer death than life far too often. You're always saved from the brink of extinction. A few times, you die. You actually die. Now, for an instance, before this young gent pulled you back," he gestured to Luffy, "Your heart had already stopped. You were. Al. Ready. Mine!" The Devil screamed the last one, slamming his cane to the floor between each word. His eyes were bulging from insane anger, making Chopper squeal in terror. Gathering himself, clearing his throat after that moment of losing his head, he took his stance again, regaining his temper. The smile was back in place. " You shouldn't trick the Trickster, children.

And so, I intend to take what belongs to me. You, my dear Roronoa Zoro, are my property. You are mine to do with what I please. And because you have gotten on my nerves so, I doubt it will be anything pleasant."

The Devil took a few intimidating steps towards Zoro, but was blocked by Luffy and Sanji.

Luffy looked him fiercly in the eyes. "I don't know if you're the Devil or not, mister. If you are, thanks for the fruit. But you're not taking any of my friends."

"Nor do _any _of us have any intention on going with you." Sanji put emphasis on the _any _so make sure he got the message. All of them were off-limits to him.

The Devil chuckled, much like Robin tended to do. "Be reasonable. Do you think Roronoa Zoro can fight me? In this condition?" He gestured to Zoro. He was right, said man could barely stand straight and was sweating from the effort of keeping his legs from buckling under him.

Chopper hurried to him, eager to help, but was stopped by a chain protruding from the wall. The dark chain appeared to be made from shadows and fire, and weaved itself around Chopper's plump middle.

Next thing he knew he was in the air, as the chain tied him back against the wall. Alarmed cries rose and Sanji aimed a swift kick at the devil, because it was obvious this guy had to be the Devil himself.

The Devil moved so swiftly no one saw clearly what happened, much like when he had disappeared to appear at Zoro's bed. He somehow flung Sanji in the air, sending him crashing against the wall, where a chain like Choppers tied him down.

"Sanji!" Nami went to help him, but the Devil made a chain for her as well. Chains came out of the walls, out of the floor and the ceiling, until all of them were tied down somehow.

All except Zoro.

The Devil cast his eyes down, seeing a blade against his neck. Zoro was on the other end, murderously glaring at him. "Let them go. Stick your chains where they came from."

The Devil shook his head disappointedly, smiling as he did so. "Roronoa Zoro, you never change." Zoro's glare hardened.

"You just won't give up, even when you know you'll lose. Like now; you're too hurt to fight, and you know it. All of us do." As much as Zoro hated to admit it, he was right. His arm was shivering from holding up his sword, and he hadn't even swung it yet. And from what he'd seen, this guy, Devil or not, had some tricks up his sleeve. Nonetheless, he had to try. Better than sit and be helpless.

The Devil sighed. "You won't give up, will you? Very well."

He reached out and grabbed the sword, by the blade. He squeezed it, but no blood flowed from his hands. The sword didn't harm him in the least.

Instead of yanking at the sword, which wouldn't have had effect because of Zoro's tight grip on the hilt, he pushed it instead, making the sword slip downwards, cutting Zoro's arm in the progress. Unprepared and surprised, Zoro lost his hold on his precious sword and it clattered to the ground. "Now," the Devil said, "I´ve grown tired of this game."

His fingers snapped in the air, and from out of nowhere, a black spot appeared under Zoro's feet. It was like the floor was being boiled, it bubbled and moved like the surface of a Jacuzzi. "What the fuck what the fuck what the FUCK?" Zoro tried moving, but his legs sunk, like in a quicksand. He was up to his calves already. Suddenly the surface of the blackness broke, revealing white hands clawing their way upwards. Big hands like the ones of blacksmiths, little hands like children's. Hands that were nothing but bones, hands that still had some soft, rotting white flesh on them.

The hands tugged at Zoro's pants, and his legs, and anywhere they managed to lay a finger at him, dragging him further into the black substance. Vanishing like a flame puffed out, the Devil released his final words. "You don't play with the fire without getting burned, Roronoa Zoro."

And then he was gone, as swiftly as he had appeared.

Zoro was now sunken above his waist in the hole on the floor. Hands were still dragging him further. He tried to reach his sword, but it was out of his grasp.

"Zoro!" Luffy desperately tried to free himself. If he could just get these weird chains to break, he could help him. But these chains were stronger than normal ones, and they burnt him. But what was this?

Luffy wriggled his hands, the rubber making it easier to escape. He finally managed to free them, though they were sore from the shadow-fire chains. "Zoro!"

Luffy stretched his hands towards the swordsman. Zoro was able to grab one, clutching it with all his might. His other had already disappeared into the floor. Only his head and right arm were still above. Luffy focused on not letting his arm stretch far enough to sink into the tar-like blackness. Everyone was freaking out. Sanji was cursing, Nami was screeching, Usopp was yelling, Chopper was shouting, Robin was trying to call advise trough the racket. But Luffy and Zoro stayed silent, both of them doing their best to get out of this mess.

Both of them were sweating from stress and tension. Their palms were damp, clasped together.

Their hands slipped.

For a split second, Luffy looked Zoro in the eyes. For just a second, he saw his first friend's wild expression, eyes wide with fear and mouth trying to shout, his familiar green hair the last thing to go under, a taunting green in the midst of black; Then he was gone.

The hole swallowed Zoro up and closed.

And silence raged once more.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

As soon as the hole disappeared, simply faded from the floor like it had never been there, the chains holding down the remaining Straw Hats vanished into smoke. Tiny Dr. Chopper was unfortunate enough to tumble to the floor.

Luffy raced to the spot Zoro had disappeared on right away, searching for evidence on how to get him back. There was nothing. The floor was as clean and neat as Chopper always kept it. Not a single black spot or a singe was there. Luffy tried clawing at the surface, but only got a splinter.

Sanji, Nami, Usopp, Chopper and Robin were suddenly by his side.

"What the hell just happened?" Sanji seemed totally lost, staring at the spot in disbelief. Robin ran her hand against the wood, inspecting it with her trained eyes.

Chopper was crying. "T-t-t-there were hands! And then there were chains, and-oh wait, the chains came first, or-or was it-the- I don't **know**!" he finally wailed, covering his face in his hooves. Usopp patted him awkwardly on the head. "None of us do. I mean, does anyone actually have a clue what just happened?" Usopp looked around. Blank stares and confused faces was all he got. Nami looked like she was at the verge of tears, too.

Robin broke the silence.

"If we give ourselves, for a second, that this really was the Devil himself, and that he really did claim Swordsman-san…" she trailed off, a distant look in her eyes. "Robin-chan?" Sanji encouraged her to go on. Robin blinked unusually slow, letting out a small sigh.

"I suppose he's in Hell right now."

Silence.

Hell? Was that possible? This Devil guy did seem fit for the job, what with the undead hands and fiery chains and whatnot. And, yes, Zoro had been on the brink of death more often than he should have. Maybe the Devil really had just snapped and taken him.

"That can't be it."

Luffy's stone hard tone made everyone blink. Luffy looked … _offended. _

"Zoro's not a bad person. He wouldn't go to Hell, you know that. He's a good guy."

Luffy was squatting pathetically on the floor, legs folded under him. "Luffy, we know that, but I doubt this… this Devil was planning on taking him to heaven." Sanji said.

"Personally, I didn't even believe in this Heaven-and-Hell stuff." Usopp added in. He laughed half-heartedly, "Isn't it ironic? Zoro, the atheist, gets dragged down to hell."

Chopper sniffled, still clinging to Usopp. "Will we ever see him again?"

Again, nothing but silence. Nami broke the ice. "Chopper, I don't think… I mean, is it even possible to-"

"Of course we will!"

Luffy yelled. He sprung up and stared at Nami.

"Zoro isn't gone! Wherever he is, we're going to find him and bring him back!" He seemed infuriated at her thoughts. Nami was crying now, not bothering to restrain herself.

"Luffy, how the **HELL** are we going to do that? We don't even know where he is, or how he got there, or if this is even real! I mean, our friend just got kidnapped by **SATAN**! What do you expect us to do, follow him down? Because I'm not to keen on committing mass suicide!"

She broke down, falling to her knees and sobbing. Sanji kneeled by her, doing his best at comforting her. Seeing Nami cry, Chopper burst into wails again, burying his nose in Usopp's shirt.

"No, I don't." All eyes turned on Luffy. His eyes were shaded by his tilted hat, a bad sign that he was either furious or saddened, and wickedly reminding them of the Devil and his hat.

"I could never ask something like that of you. But…" Luffy's eyebrows were knitted in thought. "I can't let Zoro go either. So… I'll go alone."

Nami and Chopper's heads shot up, "What? Luffy, you can't!"

"Well, what do you expect me to do?" Luffy yelled again, but this time he didn't seem angry, just confused and sad and helpless. "I can't just leave him. Because Zoro wouldn't leave us."

They bowed their heads slightly. It was true; You could say a lot of things about Zoro, but he was loyal to his friends and captain. If he were there and someone else had been dragged trough the floor, he'd probably be scolding them for giving up so easily. Knowing him, he probably would try to go to Hell after whoever was down there.

And knowing him, he'd probably succeed.

Robin started walking towards the door. She was always quiet, but she hadn't thrown one word in since they'd lost Zoro. "Robin? Where are you going?" Nami pied from the floor. Her voice was slightly nasal from crying.

"I believe Captain-san is right. We can't kill ourselves, nor can we let swordsman-san get killed. So I intend on reading up on the subject."

Usopp looked at her skeptically. "Books? Do you really think books have anything like this?" Robin gave a reassuring smile, oddly uncharacteristic.

"You'd be surprised, Longnose-kun."

And with that, she walked out the door, into the fading sunlight.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

The evening came quietly. Robin had been pouring herself over her books, and hadn't stepped out since she decided to try and look for any hints on how to get their swordsman back.

Sanji had been cooking, baking, mixing cocktails, even talking with Usopp, just to avert his mind from the emptiness of the ship, now that there weren't any snores to fill up the silence.

Usopp had been absent-minded ever since the incident. _'It's my fault'_ he thought to himself. _'I shot the mast down, it's my fault Zoro almost died. That's why the Devil came. And because of that, he's already dead…' _

Nami wondered, though, whether he really was dead.

Granted, he was in Hell, there was probably no denying that. Nami couldn't think of any other place with darkness and clawing hands in it. But was he dead? Wasn't it just your soul that was supposed to go to either heaven or hell? But Zoro's entire body had disappeared. _'Probably just makes things worse'_, she thought. Being optimistic wasn't really a big option then and there.

Chopper tried his best to act normal, though he spazzed out and stared off into space a lot. Everything was just so confusing. The sea was a mysterious place, he knew that well, but meeting the Devil? It was just too much for him to handle. All his life had been dedicated to the science and logic of medical studies, thoughts like returning from death was new to him.

And Luffy?

He sat on the figurehead of Going Merry, lost in thought.

Luffy was confused. How could the Devil just appear and take who he wanted? Shouldn't there be a law against that?

Luffy was sad. Zoro was gone, and wherever he was, it wasn't a good place. If the Devil could create fiery black chains that burnt, and summon a gate with dead people's hands in it, he could definitely do more. Not to mention how easily he had defeated all of them, and the fact Zoro was already badly off, having just been trough operation.

Luffy was even a bit scared. When Nami left, back when they had just met Sanji on the Baratie, it hadn't been a problem. Nami obviously needed talking to, and Luffy sent Zoro and Usopp after her.

When Nami and Sanji were sick and wounded on Drum island, it had been bearable. After all, Luffy could do his best to carry them to safety, even if it meant nearly freezing his entire self and scratching his fingers to the bone. But this time, they didn't know the enemy, and couldn't find him. Luffy couldn't fight to get Zoro back, because he didn't know where he was. He couldn't attack the one who had taken him, because he wasn't there. Luffy couldn't go after Zoro like when Nami left, because Zoro was somewhere no one could go and return.

Yes, Luffy was scared, but most of all he was ashamed. He had let some suit-and-cane guy take his best friend away from him in front of his very eyes. He had seen Zoro get pulled down, and he wasn't able to help. No captain should let that happen to his crew.

'_What must Zoro think of me now?'_

Things were empty with one of them gone.

Sanji called for them to get some dinner, a handsome feast no doubt, considering how long he'd been in the kitchen.

Though no one really felt like eating, they all gathered. "Where's Robin-chan? Won't she eat with us?" Sanji asked. "She said not to interrupt her. She's really trying to concentrate." Chopper answered. Sanji gave a small 'oh', before returning to the stove.

"Uh, Sanji-kun? Who's the extra plate for?" Nami awkwardly pointed out the seventh dish. The one that was, almost definitely, meant for Zoro. "Oh, right. I must've… messed up the counting." Sanji said casually, but didn't make any moves to remove the plate. _'It's just not right. All of us should be eating here. Removing the plate will make it seem like one of us is…' _

Sanji didn't want to say 'dead', but he didn't get a chance to, either. Just then, Robin walked in, hair slightly unsettled. She had a worn book in her hand, brown and musty and bound with leather. Pages stuck out here and there, yellowed with age. It had a padlock to prevent the book from opening.

She walked over to the table, food long forgotten, and stated just what all of them had been aching to hear.

"I've found it."

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

**Hah, bet you didn't see that coming! The Devil himself makes an appearance. All of you, imagine him like a mixture of Alex from Clockwork Orange and the bad guy from Princess and the Frog. **

**Yes, this is the plotline. The main part of the story is them getting Zoro back from hell, which is why it's called One way ticket to Hell. You get a bonus point if you can guess the song it's named after.**

**Next chapter: They go to hell and meet someone familiar. **

"_My, my, my, quite hostile, aren't we, Roronoa Zoro? _

**He calls him Roronoa Zoro because I like to have variety.**

_Frankly, my dears, I don't give a damn._

**Movie quote for the win!**

_You, my dear Roronoa Zoro, are my property. You are mine to do with what I please._

**Now that I read this, it sounds so wrong…**

"_What the fuck what the fuck what the FUCK?" _

**That is exactly what I'd do in a situation like this. Swear my heart out.**

**Please review and tell me what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, people. If you're reading this, please, read it in a British voice. I love British (and Scottish) accent. **

**Oh, and I refrain from using words like nakama, because I prefer writing in as complete English as I can. It translates to friend, ally or comrade.**

**I haven't been updating quite as rapidly as I used to, but I have an excuse. I get killer headaches from spending time on the laptop, so even as I write this, I'm rubbing my temples.**

**Red Voident Dragon: **Yes, you got the song right! I, my friend, salute you. (my favorite band!)

**Fmdevil: **when in trouble, cursing is always the best.

**Cb O chan: **Wow, thanks a lot! :D I hope this was soon enough! And thanks for the favorite story+author!

**BrindyB: Thanks, I'm glad you like it. Hope this is "right frikin now" enough :D**

_**[[[ONE WAY TICKET TO HELL]]]**_

"Really, Robin? You found out how to get Zoro back?"

After pondering for the longest time, over many quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore, for hours on end without coming out of her room, Robin seemed to have finally found the answer to the puzzling riddle of their disappeared friend. None of them had quite recovered from the oddity of having the Devil appear and summon a gateway to Hell to take your friend away because he had died one too many times. Obviously, it wasn't how they expected the day to end.

Chopper was now terrified of stepping inside the medical bay, where the incident occurred. Although there wasn't any trace of the portal or Zoro, Chopper's animalistic senses felt an ominous smell wafting from the spot previously occupied by said portal. He was also afraid of being alone for even a second, and with no Zoro to cling to, he was perched on top of Usopp's head.

Being his usual though slightly edgy self, Usopp tried to comfort him by telling him tales of his bravery, including the story of 'when he fought the giant, evil sea anemones come to life with one hand tied behind his back and blindfolded, while guarding a beautiful mermaid and her pet dolphin'. Chopper seemed slightly less of a bunch of nerves, but refused to let go of Usopp's curly head.

As soon as Robin entered, Luffy turned to his superball mode and bounced towards her, knocking over a couple of chairs and a Sanji in the progress. The ship's cook was to excited to hear what Robin had to say to get angry, however. Had it been Nami Luffy knocked over, now that'd have been a different story.

"Robin-chan, you said you'd found it?" Sanji asked, trying not to sound as eager as he was. Everyone huddled together around Robin, who had dark circles around her eyes and a tired look in her eyes, but was otherwise beaming… in her own, Robin-y way.

"Yes. I believe I have found a method, not a bulletproof one, but perhaps an effective one none the less. And I must say, the author of the book I found it in had a terrible sense of humour." Sanji blinked, not quite understanding what she meant. Did the author make a joke about going to Hell and back?

Robin continued, "I read each book I could find on the matter, and even the ones that had nothing to do with it. Those I thought were likely to withhold information, I read twice. It wasn't until I read The Darkness for the third time I noticed something." Robin opened the book, using a dull iron key to do so. To confuse matters, the key didn't go in the keyhole, but in a small hole on the side of the lock.

"All necessary precautions are taking when concealing information as crucial as this book has" Robin explained.

She opened the book, revealing fine letters in some ancient, long forgotten language. On the front page, there was a strange mark, which looked like a combination of the Devil's star and wingdings, resembling hieroglyph. She flipped the pages until reaching a chapter she translated as:

"Dancing with the Devil. It contains ways of speaking with the Devil, calling him, banishing him, and annoying him, even. It is by far my favorite book." she giggled.

'_Robin has strange tastes'_, Usopp thought.

Robin pointed to the first word on the page. "This word says '_I_.' When reading this, I found nothing useful, for regarding traveling to Hell or reviving someone, it only said _'Such childish thoughts will only end in disaster, and will not be encouraged in this book.'_ However," Robin now smiled a triumphant smile, "if you read every third word…" she pointed out said words, "you get a matching text." She tapped each word with a delicate finger, translating as she did so. The hidden text went as following; _'I am quite surprised you have come so far. If you truly wish to seek Hell and become the Devil's pawn, try your best. If you can, I hope you stay there, you cunning little devil. _

_**Yildun **_

_**first'**_

"So it says." Robin appeared to have more to say, but Luffy interrupted her. "What's that last word mean? Yeldin? Can I eat it?"

Nami forcefully knocked him on the head, not removing her eyes from the book. "Yeah, I don't recognize the word. Another puzzle?" She asked. Robin smiled.

"It is indeed, Navigator-san. Yildun is a word in the language the book is written in, and means 'end.' At first, I thought it simply meant the chapter was over. But I looked further into it, and it also translates to 'star' in another language. In that particular language, it's also the name of one of the stars in Little Bear. And the symbol for Little Bear is in the star on the front page." she flipped back to the page with the strange star on.

She looked around, finding nothing but confused stares and cocked eyebrows, just as she expected. She was silently amused about being the only one who understood.

"In my theory, we need to draw this Devil Star along with the other symbols to make it into a portal. Also, since it say Yildun first, or end first, I suppose we have to draw it reversed." having explained that, she now heard slight 'oh's' and 'ah's'. Most everyone was familiar with drawing creepy symbols on the floor in the light of candles during some satanic rituals. If you had ever watched a cheezy horror movie, you'd know what she meant.

"I thought that was just some gibberish born from old folk's tales." Nami voiced her wondering. "I mean, talk about cliché." Luffy giggled at her. "Silly Nami. Don't you know all the mystery stories have some truth in them? If they didn't, where would they have come from?"

She stared at Luffy, not used to him saying something so wise.

"At least that's what Shanks would always say. Hey, what does it mean?"

There it was. There had to be someone else who had told Luffy that. He didn't even know what it meant. Chopper piped up for the first time since Robin entered,

"It's true. Doctor used to say it too. Behind every fib lies a truth." He was still quivering on Usopp's head, clutching his big, pink hat over his antlers. Usopp's neck was getting rather tired from holding up twice it's normal weight, but he didn't have the heart to push Chopper off. Robin smiled to the scared little reindeer. "That's very true, Doctor-san. Your mentor was very wise."

Robin knew Chopper was sensitive about his past, and this 'Doctor' person seemed to have been his role model, and perhaps a parental figure as well. She also knew any compliment directed towards this 'Doctor' reached Chopper's heart. That was confirmed when Chopper blushed slightly and lifted his hat to reveal his smile. "Yeah, he was…"

Trying to keep everything going, Nami cleared her throat. "So, should we draw this pentagram? The sooner the better, right?" Everyone nodded and leaned towards the book, safe for Luffy.

"Huh? But it's lea time!" Lea time was a mixture of lunch and tea time, invented by Luffy. "Sanji, can we have meat?" Sanji kicked half-heartedly at Luffy's forehead.

"Idiot, we have more important stuff to do! Can't you stop talking about food for five seconds?" Luffy remained silent, and Sanji wondered whether he had maybe offended him. He was almost about to ask Luffy what was wrong when he smiled again.

"Five! I stopped talking about food for five seconds! Now can I have some meat?"

Sanji kicked again, this time with his whole heart. The boy was a lost cause. One might think Luffy was being inconsiderate, selfish even. Preferring food to helping his first mate was, after all, not a clue of passionate friendship. But in reality, it was different from that.

Luffy was simply in the highest of spirits, excitedly wriggling his fingers and toes, the smile never leaving his face. He was happy because they had a _plan. _He didn't have to wallow in worry anymore, thinking what could have happened and feeling helpless, because now he had a chance of _doing_ something instead.

The feeling was better than any meat.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]] **

The pentagram was on the wooden floor of Going Merry. Usopp had instantly volunteered to draw it, him being his amazing artist self, and even overcoming his dreadful fear of this tool of the Devil.

Once it was done, he stood back to make sure he hadn't missed a single detail. Robin warned him that if he didn't draw it perfectly, it would turn from a gate to hell into a deadly curse. "It is a gateway to Hell, I guess it's only fair to have it dangerous." Nami said.

Yes, Usopp was sure, all the strange, eerie marks were there, along with the Devil Star in the middle. He wondered briefly if this would look like some sacrificial ritual to anyone unfamiliar with the circumstances. He let out a small chuckle from the image of them sitting in a circle in a dark room, chanting some bizarre nonsense as they rocked to and fro.

Once it was done, Robin begun explaining again. "One of the things limiting us from simply entering Hell is one of the rules. You must be 'marked by the Devil' to enter. In our terms, that means you need to have at least one Devil fruit user. I also think it's best if that person takes at least two others along, since Hell is undoubtedly a dangerous place." Before Robin could even suggest who was going, Luffy interrupted, ignoring Sanji's lessons about never cutting a lady's speech short.

"I'm going. I'm a Devil fruit user, so I'm going." Robin merely nodded. She had expected this. Of course Luffy would want to go and save his friend. Even if it hadn't been Zoro, he would have volunteered. He felt the crew was his responsibility, and it was in a way, and therefore it was his responsibility to protect all of them. And since the bind between the captain and his first mate had always been different, maybe more personal than the others, he was absolutely compelled to go.

However, deciding who to go with him was a tough one. They needed some to stay and watch over the ship, as well as the rest of the crew. But Luffy also needed someone strong to go with him. Robin had read the book inside out. If one was to travel to Hell, one needed to have a clear head and untroubled vision of what was real and what was an illusion. They needed someone with the ability to be organized and reasonable. Two people came to mind; Robin herself, or…

"I'll go too." Nami announced.

This was immediately followed by Usopp's worried sputtering and Sanji's flustering and tries to talk her out of it. According to him, Hell was no place for a beauty such as her, and he would never allow her gorgeous self to lay even a slender finger on the dangers in this god forsaken place. His speech of reasons-why-Nami-should-stay-safe was interrupted by Nami herself. "Sanji-kun, shut up for a sec, OK? I'm going because I don't trust Luffy alone in there. He'd probably get stuck himself. Also, we need someone who can plan this. We need Robin here, since she's one of the stronger ones in a fight, and Chopper stays here too, in case one of us needs medical attention. Besides, we won't need a Doctor if we're already in the land of the dead." This caused Chopper to eep slightly.

"That excluding the two smartest members of our crew, I'm going instead." when he mumbled a protest, she glared at him. "What? You think I'm too stupid to go? Am I not good enough?" Sanji started protesting that 'No, Nami-Swan's intelligence puts the gods to shame, her incredible mind is no match for the wrath of the seven seas' and so on, giving Nami exactly what she wanted. "Great, that settles that. Sanji-kun agrees; I'm going." Sanji realized had fallen into her trap. If he said she shouldn't go, she would get mad. If he let her go, she might be in danger. Only one thing came to mind to avoid both.

"I'll be going too, then. I'm not letting Nami-san venture into such a drastic trip with nothing but a dimwitted idiot by her side." If he went along, he could protect her. But if he went with her, someone needed to make sure Robin would be treated like a queen in his absence. He glared at Usopp, the closest thing to being 'the man of the ship'. "Usopp, you better take good care of Robin while I'm gone."

"That settles that, then." Robin smiled, happy to have cleared that I such a short time.

"I hope all of you know what you're getting yourself into, guys." Usopp said. "I mean, all of you could get seriously hurt. You'll wind up dead for all you know." Again, his pessimistic thoughts rubbed onto Chopper. The word 'dead' had especially had effect on him.

He sniffled quietly, eyes moist. "Y-you're so brave, guys…. D-don't *sniff* don't die, please…" Nami petted him on his… hat, since his head was covered by it. "Don't worry, Chopper, we'll be okay. We'll be back, Zoro and all. I promise."

'_Whoah, I shouldn't say that. Who knows if we'll come back at all, let alone dragging Zoro along?' _Nami thought.

Robin walked over to Luffy, surprisingly with Zoro's white katana in hand. The delicate steel of the handle glinted encouragingly in the soft, golden light of the room. "I believe swordsman-san would like to have his katana back, once you reach him."

Once. Not if. A sneaky way of saying 'you can do it', but it worked. Luffy accepted the sword, handling it with the care he usually only reserved for his hat. With Sanji's help, he tied it on his back. While they were bustling about, Nami was questioning Robin.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" she said.

Robin's eyebrows rose 0.5 cm's. "You mean, besides going where no living human being should ever go, a place of pure evil, darkness and torture?" Nami gave her a slightly irritated glance. "Yeah, that. I mean, we don't know enough about his place. How will we get out? How do we find Zoro? Where do we look? We're not really prepared."

Robin dragged Nami away, in order to speak to her privately. "Navigator-san, I believe I should tell you this. I assume you will meet a guide once you're inside. I don't know how he'll look like, or even if he's friendly, although I strongly suspect he is. This guide knows everything I know, and should be able to help you. Listen to him. Your lives may depend on it."

Before Nami could ask what this guide was, or how she had gotten him, or how Robin knew, Luffy was already beckoning her over. Robin gave her a playful push towards him, rendering no room for questions. Chopper and Usopp hugged them all goodbye, on the verge of tears. Luffy didn't quite get why, but smiled and hugged them back all the same. "Hey, Usopp, take care of Zoro's other swords while we're away, okay? He wouldn't want them to get dirty or lost. Oh, but stay away from the red and scary one. It doesn't like anyone to touch it besides Zoro." Usopp promised, although he wondered how Luffy knew that.

Oh well, he'd have to ask some other time.

Once the hugging, crying and bawling was done, all of them, Sanji, Nami and Luffy, took their positions in the ring of the pentagram. As soon as Luffy stepped in, a small rustle of wind blew trough the room, even though the doors were closed and windows sealed. The symbols seemed to glow faintly, a pulsing, rhythmic glow resembling a heartbeat. Slowly, they began to sink into the floor, much like Zoro had done when he was called to Hell against his will.

Nami unconsciously clung to Sanji in fear, which would have made him swoon, hadn't he been mildly disgusted by the word feeling of moving trough the floor himself. Luffy just beamed, gasping 'Coooooooool!' before waving to Usopp, Chopper and Robin.

"Yosh! See you, guys! We'll be back soon, so have some meat ready, 'mkay? Oh, and maybe some sake for Zoro!"

And with that, they were gone.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

There was a moment of silence amongst the remaining crew, consisting of Robin, Chopper and Usopp. After staring at the faded glow of the pentagram for a while, Robin spoke up. "I believe we should stand guard here. If anything happens to the marks, even a slightest smudge, they won't make it back." Chopper and Usopp gulped. If anything happened, they'd be stuck forever…. Both of them nodded, determined to make sure the strange symbols came to no harm.

Usopp clutched Zoro's two swords a bit tighter.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

Black.

Black, black, black, all the way around.

Sanji spun in circles. He could feel his body, he could tell he was walking, but he couldn't see a damned thing. He felt his eyes, making sure they weren't just closed, before walking again. "Nami-san? Luffy? Oi, guys? You all-" his calling died away when he took a sharp breath as he lost his footing. It felt like he was falling from an endless distance, down, down, down…

Sanji clenched his eyes shut and prepared himself for the impact that was sure to come…

But he never landed. When he opened his eyes, he was sprawled on the ground in a rather undignified manner. 'Wait, ground?' he thought to himself. So he was… somewhere now. Pulling himself up to a sitting position, he examined his surroundings. He was stuck on some rocky, wilderness-kind-of field, nothing but stones and moss as far as the eye could see.

Which wasn't far. It appeared to be night, although the dark seemed to be fading, revealing more rocks and moss. He looked up. No stars. No moon. No sun. Just ink-black sky, clouded by the dry dust flying up with every movement he made_. 'This is a damn desert.'_ he thought. He kicked a rock, sending more dust into the air. Damn, he needed a cigarette. He fumbled around in his pockets, finding nothing. "Where did I…?" he thought out loud. His mind wandered back… to the kitchen table. _'Damn.'_

Nami stood up, coughing. She had just been in some weird sort of black abyss, but ended up there, on that rocky, empty field. '_Where are the guys?' _she thought to herself. Being alone on a very unwelcome place wasn't her favorite thing in the world. _'This is Hell? It sure doesn't look as fiery as I thought it would.'_

She scrambled to her feet, about to call out to Sanji and Luffy, when something caught her eye. A small glint in the midst of this grey, dusty world. She started walking towards it. Whatever it was, it had color, and would be a welcome change to her current view. Inching closer to the taunting bright gleam, her high heeled shoes made a soft click at each step.

As soon as she realized what it was, she almost wished she had never approached it.

A golden, droplet shaped earring, surrounded by splotches of blood.

Luffy kept walking, step by step. After seeing black, then falling, then seeing grey, he was finally on his feet, looking for his friends. He adjusted his hat on his head, the bright straw-yellow color incredibly noticeable in the middle of rubble, and Zoro's katana.

Luffy knew the name, he had memorized it when it was just him and Zoro on a small boat in the middle of the sea.

Wadou Ichimonji.

Although, he thought, Zoro sometimes referred to it as 'her'.

When Luffy had been swinging the sword around while Zoro was fast asleep, all that time ago, Zoro had woken up and given Luffy a good punch in the face. Luffy dropped the sword, but before it reached the floor of the boat, Zoro caught it. Luffy was about to ask what was the matter, but noticing the angry, not just pissed or irritated, but _angry_, gleam in the man's eyes, he realized he'd stepped over some line. "Do not," Zoro said in a warning growl of a voice, "_ever _touch her again. Got it?"

This sword was as important to Zoro as Luffy's hat was to him. Luffy hadn't asked why. He knew Zoro didn't like talking about his past, or about himself in general. He just didn't like giving more information about himself than necessary.

Whenever he wanted to tell, Luffy would be there, ready to listen to whatever laid in the swordsman's past. Until then, he'd wait.

Luffy's instincts made the hairs on the back of his neck perk up. He hadn't heard or seen it yet, but someone was watching him.

A girl's voice, feminine but sharp at the same time, the voice of someone who knows what she wants and won't be walked over, made him turn on his heels. He didn't know what he expected, a demon, a goblin, maybe an animal, but this was definitely not on the list.

Behind him, in the middle of the rubble of a landscape, stood a young girl, almond-shaped eyes staring right back at Luffy. She didn't seem threatening, nor did she make any move to attack. Instead, she stood there for a while, before speaking.

"Hello, Luffy-san."

[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]

Ow, ow, motherf*cking ow. My shoulders are on fire from writing so long D:

I hope you appreciate it.

The riddle of Robin's book, that means the entire read-every-third-word and all that shishkebab, was entirely made up by me. Yes, Yildun IS a star, in Little Bear (I´m not sure if I'm translating right here, but it's real) and it DOES mean _star_. It doesn't mean '_end,_' though, I made that up. I hope it wasn't annoying to read all that, but I really did my research on this puzzle.

_As soon as Robin entered, Luffy turned to his superball mode and bounced towards her, knocking over a couple of chairs and a Sanji in the progress. _

**Remember the Superballs? I love those. **

_It wasn't until I read The Darkness for the third time I noticed something."_

**Spot the hidden message?**

"_I mean, talk about cliché."_

**Yes, I'm aware that drawing a pentagram on the floor **_**is **_**cliché, but bear with me. **

_Lea time was a mixture of lunch and tea time, invented by Luffy. _

**Like brunch, you know? Breakfast+lunch.**

_And since the bind between the captain and his first mate had always been different, maybe more personal than the others, he was absolutely compelled to go. _

**Not sure if this is true. Is Zoro Luffy's first mate? I keep hearing people say that, but I'm not certain.**

_Oh, but stay away from the red and scary one. It doesn't like anyone to touch it besides Zoro."_

**I'm not sure what colour Sandai Kitetsu's sheath and hilt is. Let's assume it's red.**

Although, he thought, Zoro sometimes referred to it as 'her'.

**Also not sure if this is a fact, but I've heard someone say it is, so let's pretend it's true, eh?**


	8. Chapter 8

**I scored 100% in math, 100% in biology, 90% in danish~! Yay me! Yes, I'm that person who aces every class. I'm not bragging, it's true.**

**THANKS 100 TIMES TO THE RANDOM YAHOO!ANSWERS PERSON WHO HELPED ME WITH THE STORY ERROR!**

**BrindyB: **Really? It was meant to be a tenso one, but I'm still glad it made you laugh ^ ^ The hidden message = the Darkness is the band that wrote the song One way ticket to Hell and back, the origin of my story name : )

**Fmdevil:** It is, isn't it? Thanks, I hope you'll like where this is going.

**Cy-grl: **Thank you : )

**Red Voident Dragon: **Well, mate kind of means-relates to friend, and Zoro was Luffy's first friend (as far as we know) So it's a little true? :D Aha ha… ha….?

**Cb O chan: **Ohoho, you'll have to find out ;3 I'm glad you liked my riddle, because I really did try to make it make sense.

Also, I didn't really get your joke. Sorry xD

_**[[[ONE WAY TICKET TO HELL]]]**_

Sanji was still walking aimlessly around not really going in any specific direction, just wandering about in the hope of somehow finding his way to his friends. Luffy and Nami were still out there somewhere, although Sanji couldn't be sure they had even made it. So far, he'd seen no trail of them, nor any signs of life in this place. The landscape remained exactly the same, rocky way it had been when he first arrived.

Not really caring if anything unfriendly heard him anymore, Sanji kept calling Luffy and Nami. It wasn't too long until he heard the heavenly voice of an angel, gracing him with it's fine tune.

"Sanji?" However, that angel sounded rather… distressed. Feeling that familiar lurch in his gut, he sincerely hoped nothing bad had happened.

"Nami-swan, you there?" following the sound, he soon made out her ginger hair. She was crouching, and Sanji's first guess was that she was either injured or hiding. However, neither proved to be the case when she stood up and waved him over. Walking towards her, he saw something sparkling and almost shining in her hand.

"What's that, Nami-swan?" He noticed her expression was dim. Biting her lip, she showed him the object in her hand. A familiar, golden earring, stained with something painfully familiarly red.

"Where did you find this?" He asked her in a grave tone. She motioned towards the ground at her feet, where more red splatters could be seen. The lurch in his stomach hadn't left, even when he saw Nami was unharmed, and now it was even heavier. Shaking the thought of what may and may not have happened, trying to distract her and himself, he asked Nami, "Have you seen Luffy? I can't seem to find him anywhere."

She shook her head. "No. I was looking for you guys, but then I found…that, and I was distracted."

Luckily for them, they heard a faint, childish voice talking. Unmistakably-

"Hey, that's Luffy!" Sanji was about to run off, when Nami stopped him. He cast her a questioning glance, but she put her finger over her lips. "Listen." She whispered. Sanji strained his ears, and in between of his captain's loud words, a smaller, different voice could be heard. It was almost impossible to make out words, but the discussion seemed to be about the girl and… food?

"Who's he talking to?" Nami whispered. Sanji shrugged, he had thought Luffy was just talking to himself, or singing about the rocks, or some other spontaneous thing he'd come up with.

"We won't find out unless we look. That guy's so stupid, he might get in trouble if we're not around." Seeing Nami's worried face, he added, "Don't worry, my dearest. I'll protect you if it's anything dangerous." They walked towards the voices, Nami behind Sanji. Luffy was standing in a small grove, and next to him was…

"A girl?" Sanji mused out loud. This seemed to capture Luffy's attention, for he turned his head towards them. Seeing his lost-and-now-found friends, he smiled all around.

"Yo, guys! What took you so long?" He waved, completely oblivious to the suggestive stares his companions were trying to give him. Giving up on being subtle, Nami rolled her eyes. "And you are?" Nami directed her words towards the girl. She was young, only reaching Luffy to a little above his waist. She was wearing a simple, grey T-shirt and red shorts, and sandals on her feet.

Dark, almond-shaped eyes looked back at her with some wariness and suspicion, but the gaze soon turned to a more friendly one. When she spoke, the voice was girly but firm, signaling that she was not as young at heart as she was in looks. "When you ask someone their name, you're supposed to say your own name first." She smiled faintly. "Although I already know your name, of course." This threw Nami a little off-balance. Who did this girl think she was, acting all grown-up and saying she knew Nami? She'd never seen the brat in her life! Well, Nami would sure tell her- but the girl interrupted her.

"You can call me Kuina."

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**Hearing the girl's name, something inside Sanji twitched. Kuina… Kuina… hadn't he heard that name before? Sounded familiar… Something clicked in his mind; he _had _heard it, by an accident.

It happened one night, when Sanji had taken the first watch. After a tiresome but boring two hours, he made his way into the bedrooms to wake up Zoro, who had the next watch. The idiot was snoring on the floor, still in his clothes_. 'He probably fell asleep before even getting dressed down' _Sanji thought. He leaned forward to kick him awake, but paused when he heard the man murmur. It wasn't normal for the marimo to talk in his sleep, snoring was usually enough for him. While Usopp and Luffy practically raged wars in their sleeps, Zoro was usually quiet enough. Except this time, for some reason. Holding his breath, Sanji listened, trying to make sense of the words.

"mmdon't… Kuina, stay away from the…stnn"

Well, that didn't make much sense. Sanji let out a small _tsk_. Even in his sleep, that idiot wouldn't make sense. Forgetting his previous musings, he kicked the man awake, and the room was soon filled with curses and threats.

Obviously, Zoro knew this girl, whoever she was. So, maybe she knew where he was.

"You don't happen to have seen a walking bush, have you? He answers to 'Zoro'."

Nami had to stifle a laugh. Luffy (though no one listened) muttered, confused: "'s not a bush…is Sanji an idiot?" The girl, Kuina, giggled lightly. "No, I haven't seen Zoro. Not since yesterday. But I'm going to help you find him." Nami made a small gasp. "You're the guide Robin sent? The one that knows all about this place?" Kuina turned to her.

"Yes, although I wasn't _sent_. Robin-san merely helped me get here. I'm just as determined to find Zoro as you are. And I don't know all about Hell, I just know what Robin knows. And, I admit, that is a lot."

"Why do you talk like you know Zoro? Not the first time someone does..." Sanji asked, remembering someone asking the Devil the exact same question.

"And how do you know Robin?" Nami asked as well.

"Also, how'd you get here? Are you dead?" Luffy asked. Kuina waved her hand impatiently, signaling them to shut up. "Alright, alright. I'll explain everything, OK?" She inhaled, closing her eyes for a moment. "But you have to promise you won't tell Zoro I said anything. He can't know you ever met me, okay?" Nami and Sanji wondered why that was. Was she his enemy? Was _he_ _**her **_enemy? Nami was about to ask, but Luffy cut her off. "Yeah, we promise." Nami sent him a what-the-hell-are-you-getting-us-into glare, but he shot her a I-know-what-I'm-doing glare, a rare one to get from Luffy. She raised her eyebrow, silently asking him what he meant, and he smiled. In an instant, Nami knew what he was telling her. _We can trust this girl._

Kuina cleared her throat, more to get their attention than anything.

"To begin with, I think I should tell you how I got here. I don't know Robin-san, personally, but that woman is remarkably clever. She figured out a spirit was in the Wadou Ichinomji. Said spirit happens to be me. She kept the sword close while reading out loud all information she could possibly dig up on how to get to Hell and so on, and advised Luffy to take Wadou along. Because the sword is here, I can be here in my own form as well. But I have to stay close to the sword, or I'll vanish. I can't really take any action, since my from isn't all that solid," she put emphasis on her words as she phased her hand trough Luffy, who exclaimed in coolness, "but I can be your guide of knowledge." Luffy was now frantically trying to touch her, but grabbing at thin air each time. Nami was a little creeped out by this, but remained silent. Sanji, however, was not amused. "Oi, idiot, don't be so rude to the lady-err, girl. Let her finish." Luffy pouted, but ceased slapping Kuina in the face, who was growing more and more irritated by his tactics. If she could punch him, she would have. "That's right, Kuina-chan, you haven't told us why you're looking for Zoro with us." Kuina bit her lip, again acting older than she should.

"I'd really rather not tell…but I suppose you deserve to know, if you are to trust me. And I know you'll keep your promise about not telling him.

I'll tell you how I know Zoro.

We attended the same dojo as children. I lived there with my father, the owner of the dojo, and Zoro lived there because he had no other place to go. He pretty much just showed up one day, saying he wanted to practice there. I'm pretty sure he didn't have any parents. No one ever came to ask about him, anyway.

I was the best at the dojo, so Zoro, being the hothead he is, challenged me. I won, of course, but he wouldn't give up. We somehow managed a rival-best friends relationship, during our many, many fights. Even though he could beat even adults at the age of 8, I always won him. One night, when I won him for the 2001st time, we had a bit of an argument. I told him I couldn't be the world's best at swordplay because I was a woman." She got a distant look in her eyes as she said that, making her look a lot older than she was. "He got really pissed at me for that. Saying he wouldn't take that crap from me because I was the best he knew. He made me promise that, one day, one of us would be the best swordsman in the world." _'_

_So the marimo is so dead-set on that goal of his to beat some childhood friend? Talk about competitive. I wonder why I've never seen this girl, though…'_ Sanji thought. Kuina answered his silent question.

"But… the day after, I… I tripped. Fetching my equipment, I fell down the stairs and broke my neck. It didn't hurt, I died before I even hit the final step. Stupid mistake on my half." Nami's hand unconsciously went to her mouth. So this girl was…

"To answer your question before, Luffy, yes. I'm dead. Have been for a while now." Sanji seemed to be really irked by this information. His visible eye narrowed and his visible eyebrow furrowed, in a somewhat disbelieving fashion. Nami exhaled sharply. _She's a ghost. She's a demon. She's a __**zombie! **_

Surprising them all, Luffy just said "Oh, so that's how it is." Kuina smiled at him then.

"Because of how important my sword is to me, my soul seems to have take refugee in it. Ever since, I've been, kind of, living _with _the sword. Don't ask; it's hard to explain.

Zoro asked my father if he could have my sword. He said he'd take my share of the training, and strive hard to make himself the world's best."

'_I'll be the world's best swordsman, so that my name will even reach her in heaven!' _

Kuina remembered the words Zoro had shared, just a kid at the time. She smiled bitterly at the thought. Just a kid, much like herself when she had died.

"He's been training like mad ever since, trying so damn hard to fulfill a silly childhood promise, the idiot. He nearly got himself killed fighting Dracule 'Hawk Eyes' Mihawk. He never _was _the brightest of the students…" She chuckled hollowly. Smiling still, yet clenching her fists, the poor girl looked… broken, yet very proud and noble. She oddly reminded them of Zoro and how he would never loose his stance, even when he was utterly defeated.

"Don't make fun of Zoro's dream." Luffy's serious voice surprised Kuina. For a second, she looked like the child she should be. Innocent, wide-eyed, eager for answers. He looked at her, not smiling this time, but not frowning either. He looked her straight in the eye, withholding her gaze as he often did when he wanted someone to understand something important.

"Don't make fun of his dream, 'cause it's not stupid. He is going to be the world's best swordsman, and both of us know it. Your promise isn't stupid, 'cause he _will _fulfill it. Just wait and see." He gave her his grin, his determined, sure-of-winning, wolfish grin. Kuina looked at him with tear-brimmed eyes. Nami could tell she was trying her best not to start bawling her eyes out- it was a look Nami had portrayed many times before. After a slight pause, in which Kuina wiped her eyes with her wrist, she returned the grin, albeit more gracefully. Giving a quick nod, she smiled reassuringly. "I know, Luffy. If nothing else, he has the spirit for it." The atmosphere was significantly lighter now. Despite Luffy's light-hearted laugh, however, Sanji was musing to himself about this new acknowledgement. _'So that's why he trains so hard… to fulfill a promise to a dead friend. Geez, damn moss-head, I didn't know you were so loyal to your words. I must say, I can't help but view him differently now. Loosing his best friend as a kid, and spending his entire life doing nothing but train, sleep and train more, in order to make said friend proud.' _

Realizing where his train of thought was going, he added as an afterword:

'_stupid-ass marimo.' _

Sighing, Kuina resumed talking in her professional-like, straight to business tone. " There's one more thing we need to make clear." The way she straightened her back but lowered her head made everyone listen intently, even Luffy. "Hell isn't all fire and brimstone. The Devil is smarter than that. Hell is fit for your fears. Instead of one common Hell, there is your own Personal Hell, containing your deepest, most sincere fears. If we're going to get Zoro, we'll be entering his Hell. That's probably about the most personal space you'll ever intrude, so whatever you see there, try never mentioning it again. The deeper we go, the more we'll see, and the closer we'll get to Zoro.

The effects if Hell may result in you seeing your own nightmares. Because you don't belong here, it won't effect you as much as it would someone like Zoro, but it's enough to drive someone mildly insane. Stick as close to Luffy as you can, and you'll probably be relatively okay." _The Key word being 'reletively', of course. You can't go to Hell and expect to come out picture-perfect._ "Just remember; nothing in here is real. Whatever you may see, your dead mother or a forgotten foe or something of the like; It's. An. Illusion."

Luffy tilted his head. "But why is this place so dangerous if nothing's real?"

Kuina didn't look pleased to be interrupted, but tolerated his ignorance. After all, he was a kid at heart and had to be treated as such.

"It's not physically dangerous, it's your mind that's in danger. Like I said, the things people can see here is enough to crack your mind. Zoro's physical from can be hurt, because… well he _does _belong here. But our biggest worry is whether we'll reach him before the Devil breaks his spirit completely."

Everyone now understood the direness of the situation. Mental illness was, if anything, worse than physical one. "You mean..?" Luffy trailed off, not really believing his ears. Yes, Zoro was damn strong, but his mental state? He had enough skeletons in his closet to drive a living person insane. Combine that with facing your biggest fears…

"Yes. When we finally find him, he may not be Zoro anymore. Just a demented, empty shell, deprived of sanity."

Tense words. Nami shuddered and huddled a bit closer to Luffy, fearing what she might see if she didn't stay close enough. Sanji tried to keep his cool, but even he didn't want to go insane, so he too stepped closer to the boy. Kuina had to stay close to him anyway, since he had her sword. Trying to lift the heavy cloud she had created, she kept talking.

"So, you all know the basics. If you feel the need, ask. Now all we have to do is find him. I pray to the God neither of us believe in that he hasn't gotten himself into _more _trouble."

Knowing Zoro, he most definitely had.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

**Short chapter this time, because ha. **

**So yes, I just brought Kuina into the plot. *Plzdon'thateme* It does make sense, right, Sandai Kitetsu's cursed with some evil spirit or something, so why wouldn't Wadou contain a spirit too? They are talked about like they have souls, personalities even. **

**I just realized this probably doesn't belong in the angst category. Oh, what the hell, I'm too lazy to change it. Also, sorry this chapter was so eternally boring, but it was meant to explain all the Hell stuff. I'll try adding a bit of violence in the next one, hmm?**

'_I'll be the world's best swordsman, so that my name will even reach her in heaven!' _

**That phrase is so sweet~**

_It's not physically dangerous, it's your mind that's in danger. Like I said, the things people can see here is enough to crack your mind. Zoro's physical from can be hurt, because… well he _does _belong here._

**Okay, so basically: if you belong in Hell and died accordingly, you go completely nuts. The Devil makes sure to give you exactly what you need to mess up your brain. **

**If you belong in Hell but didn't really die, like Zoro, the Devil doesn't have **_**as much **_**power over you but you will go insane nonetheless.**

**If you don't belong in Hell nor are dead, the Devil holds not nearly as much power over you, but it's still enough to make a weak mind insane if you're not with one of the Devil's 'child', a.k.a a Devil Fruit user. **

**~Mer, over and out.~**


	9. Chapter 9

**Halló**,** everyone. Could anyone be so kind as to tell me why making a double **_**enter **_**doesn't work? Neither does making a page break. I really want something to make the beginning of one part and the ending of another clearer.**

**As promised, just a little bit of violence in this chapter. I can't spoil anything, but I'll say this; don't jump to conclusions.**

**BrindyB: **Man, I must be way too obvious then! And about Zoro's Hell; Well, you're… _close… _you'll have to wait and see ;)

**Fmdevil: As always, thanks. : ) **

**Red Voident Dragon: I'm glad you don't hate me for it x) Also glad you like my meaningless explaining. It makes me feel loved :D (in a friendly way ;3)**

_**[[[ONE WAY TICKET TO HELL]]]**_

Robin sat on the deck and tapped her chin. It was nighttime already, but the sky was still brightly lit. Colours of red, orange, yellow, blue and pink danced in the sky, creating a real-life painting of the best sort. Yet, Robin's view was clouded by worries of her friends. After Luffy, Nami and Sanji had gone to look for Zoro, it was Robin's duty to take care of the remaining crew, Chopper and Usopp. As the oldest member, she had to. It consoled her some, in her anxiety of not being able to help the others further. It was quite a while since they had left, and even longer since her friend Zoro was taken. Yes, she considered him a friend. Even though he probably didn't look at her the same way, Robin trusted him completely and would lay her life in his hands. And what was that, if not friendship? She just sincerely hoped they'd all make it out okay.

Yet she had a strange feeling that she was hoping against hope.

_**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**_

After Kuina's thorough explanation, the party of four set out. Completely ignoring the heavy silence and obvious fear looming over everyone, Luffy was singing, yes, _singing _about the place.

"Hell, oh, Hello, Hell-oh, it sounds like Jell-O, Sanji sometimes makes me Jell-O, Jell-O sounds like mellow, Robin's always mellow, mellow sounds like fellow, Usopp's a happy fellow, fellow sounds like… uhm….Hello, hello sounds like.."

After repeating his song a few times, Sanji snapped.

"God**DAMN** it you idiot, we're stuck in the middle of **HELL **with a **DEVIL **that's trying to **KILL US **and _you're _singing a fucking **SONG ABOUT IT?" **

He panted after letting his frustration out, observing Luffy's reaction. The boy looked at him with wide eyes, slightly cross-eyed, and slowly…

Stuck his finger up his nose.

Now it was Nami's turn to take out her anger on her captain. "Luffy, that's disgusting! Seriously, how old are you?" Luffy was squatting on the ground, holding his head which had a new bump on it.

Kuina smiled ever-so-slightly at their antics. They were pretty lively, despite being in the land of the dead.

She was standing a bit away from them, having kept walking for a bit when they had stopped to yell at Luffy. She resumed walking, eager to move.

"Nami-san, Sanji-san, Luffy, we have to keep going or we won't-"

her sentence was cut short when Sanji called her. "Kuina! Careful!" She looked ahead, and saw stairs suddenly stretching out beneath her. Unwelcome memories of falling rose up, making her collapse to her knees. Sanji walked to her, concern apparent on his face. "You all right, there?" Kuina nodded. Sanji raked a hand trough his hair, Whew! Things just pop up from thin air here?" Kuina nodded again. "Yes. For me, it's stairs, for you, it's something else. I know this; I shouldn't be so carefree. I shouldn't have gone too far ahead, I'm very sorry."

Nami smiled, kneeling besides her.

"Hey, it's fine. Just be careful, for your own sake, all right?" Kuina nodded and smiled back.

'_I can see why Zoro's so drawn to them…'_

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

Everyone made sure to stay close to Luffy, now having seen what could happen if you strayed. Even poised little Kuina seemed to be on edge.

The landscape was rapidly changing now. Mountains were rising faster than could be normal, slanting over them like murderers, looming over a victim. The further they went, the more they were surrounded by rocks, trees or hills. "This place is kind of creepy." Nami muttered. She had started clinging to Sanji's arm, him being the mort reliable source of protection if anything were to jump out of the shadows.

Kuina, as she had said herself, was no aid in fighting. She wasn't even solid. Luffy, although protective when needed to be, would probably try to make friends with whatever hellhound would attack them. That left Sanji.

Sanji, of course, was in Heaven rather than Hell over this.

"Kuina-chan, do we have to go this way? Do we even know where we're going? Couldn't our destination just as well be in the exact other direction?"

Nami had a good reason to ask, because they really _didn't _know where to begin looking for Zoro. After arriving and uniting, they pretty much just went off into some direction, walking west just for the heck of it. None of them had any clue where Zoro could possibly be, but mainly, she just wanted to get out of there. It was almost getting hard to walk, the hills were so steep.

"The answer is yes, to all those questions. The landscape has changed, which means we must be going somewhere. Besides, all the directions and routes lie to the same place. The deepest Hell. The core."

Nami was going to object to that, after all, she was a navigator and as such, she couldn't agree that every direction was in the same direction. It made no sense whatsoever.

However, she thought better of it. Kuina was their guide, after all, and knew a whole lot more about this place than Nami.

Besides, stairs suddenly burying themselves into the ground? This place obviously didn't obey the law of logic.

"Ah-hey?" Luffy pointed straight forward. In the cover of some pine trees, something-or someone- could be seen moving. It was just a shadow, disappearing the second they saw it, but Luffy saw a familiar shape to it. He had always had a thing for following his instincts.

"What's that?" Without thinking, he ran straight forward. "Luffy! Don't!" Kuina called after him, but he was already beyond hearing. That little monkey could run fast when he wanted to, and curiosity was one of Luffy's weaknesses. Kuina could feel a tug, somewhere in her mind. _'Oh no, oh no, this is bad, this is real bad.'_ she thought. She needed everything to be under control; and everything was now spinning out of control.

Sanji prepared to run after him.

"That idiot, Kuina-chan specifically said to stick together!" He dashed forwards, but had to screech to a halt when Kuina practically flung herself in front of him. "WAIT! Sanji-san! You can't go alone, you'll just…" Kuina's voice faded. _Kuina _faded. Luffy was now too far away with the sword, so her visible form was retreating. Soon, there was nothing but empty space where she had been. Sanji was actually very much so freaked out by this. He started feeling around, trying to find Kuina. But there was nothing, save from the faint scent of lilies. Nami now looked genuinely scared. As if having one friend run off on you ad another dematerializing in front of you, they were now stuck at possibly the most dangerous place on earth (beyond earth, actually) and they had no one with the knowledge of how to survive.

"If we don't have a Devil-fruit user, we'll start seeing things." Nami's mind was already conjuring images of what could appear. "Sanji-kun, whatever you see or hear, unless it comes from one of us, ignore it. Close your eyes, cover you ears, and if I seem to be loosing it, hold me down. We'll go after Luffy together."

She grabbed his hand and started running towards the pine forest. ('_where did that forest come from? Oh well, never mind that now!_'), and Sanji followed suit, determined to follow his Nami to the end of they world and back.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

Luffy ran. His feet hit the ground with an echoing sound, louder than they usually would, but he didn't care. He'd seen it, he'd definitely seen it. A mixture of green-tinted black, at brown and white, with a little green on top.

Zoro.

Luffy couldn't wipe the huge smile on his face nor stifle his giggles, and even if he could, he probably wouldn't have. Maybe, possibly, hopefully he'd found Zoro and they'd all be safe! And they could go back (how exactly they'd do that, he wasn't sure, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it), and food would be waiting for him, plus a barrelful of sake for Zoro. And they could forget this ever happened, and he could forget how desperate his first mate looked before he got sucked into the dark void, and the helplessness of not being able to hold on any longer…

"ZOOOOROOOOO! OOOOOI! ZORO-RO-RO!" Luffy called his name over and over again, his voice broke every now and then due to lack of oxygen. He paused to catch his breath. He had definitely seen him… hadn't he?

He bent over, supporting himself by putting his hands on his knees. He tried to relax his breaths, but was still panting like a tired horse driven too far.

"I saw you, Zoro. Come out already." Luffy said to no one in particular.

Suddenly, his senses perked up. Something was on his back right. Mixed up with the intense scent of pine and mud, he smelled something else, something familiar, something that smelled like…steel.

He whirled around, "Zoro?" but saw no one there. He scratched his head under his hat.

'_This place is weird. Why is everything hiding? And where did Zoro go?'_ This was all getting very frustrating to Luffy. Why the hell was everything so strange here?

"Damn it, Zoro, come out! I know you're there, so just come on! Captain's orders!"

He heard footsteps behind him. Finally!

He felt something tug at his clothes, but he didn't care what it was.

He heard the swish of a sword being drawn, but ignored it.

He normally would have sensed danger coming, but he was too overwhelmed with joy.

All he cared about was that familiar, deep voice, talking low yet easily finding it's way to Luffy's ears.

"Captain's orders? Psch! Give me a break."

Feeling a rush of relief, he spun around.

"Ah! Zoro, you're-!"

He stopped dead. His feeling of relief turned to a feeling of dread. Zoro was hurt, and pretty bad, too. Most of his tan skin was stained with red blood or black bruises, specifically on his arms, and his green hair had specks of red. He didn't look like he could breathe well, either. Each breath was raspy and pained. The left side of his head was extremely bloody, where a sickening gap could be seen in his earlobe, where a gold earring had once hung. The skin on the ear was shriveled and bloody, and looked somewhat infected. Zoro's face was scrunched in anger and effort. All in all, and as Zoro would have phrased it:

He looked like shit.

But that wasn't what really scared Luffy. What made Luffy close his mouth and back away, like a cornered animal, was the deadly look in his comrade's eyes, and the white sword in his hand, pointed directly at Luffy.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

Nami and Sanji ran.

Trying to stay as close to each other as possible, they ran in the direction Luffy had dashed in. Sanji saw flickers of familiar images, he smelled food and ocean, heard waves slither across sand, saw a stump leg that made his head hurt in remembrance, but he stopped at nothing. Nami-san had told him to ignore everything he saw, and that, he was going to do.

'_Even if the old geezer himself jumps out at me…'_

Suddenly, Nami stopped running. Sanji turned around, thinking maybe she had seen Luffy or that damn Zoro, but what he saw made him freeze in his tracks.

At first, she had looked curious, mildly concerned. The her look had turned to unbelieving. Now, Nami was on the ground, kneeling, pupils dilated with fear. She was shivering from head to toe, breathing in small gasps. Her eyes were fixed on something. He followed her gaze to see what, and could honestly not believe his eyes.

There, in the middle of two trees, was Arlong the merman.

Although it had been a long while since they had seen him, and Sanji personally would rather forget all about him, the half-man looked just like when they had left him. His light-blue skin gleamed in the dull light, his tourist-like clothes not doing a good job at making him look more innocent. The saw he had for a nose still reminded him a bit of Usopp, as much as Sanji detested to admit it. He was just like before, but… he looked more menacing, more _deadly. _More shark-like, really.

Smiling his fish smile, bearing his many rows of sharp and deadly shark teeth, he stepped forwards. Nami immediately scooted further away, crawling as far as she could go. She bumped into Sanji's legs, and held onto them for dear life. Sanji's protective side took over and he stepped in front of her, shielding her behind him.

"Arlong? Fish man Arlong, from Arlong Park?" He asked, being careful not to mistake him for someone else. He had a bit of a problem telling these fishmen apart, but he was fairly sure this was, indeed, Arlong. His face wasn't an easy one to forget.

"I see you remember me, pirate."

Arlong answered in his soothingly deep voice. Taking another threatening step, Sanji got into a fighting stance.

"Didn't we get rid of you last time? Why are you showing off your ugly mug again?"

He asked. Arlong laughed, and it irked Sanji. He had never tolerated this stupid ass's laugh.

"Shee-she she she she!"

'_Don't snap, Sanji, don't snap, it's not his fault his laugh is so damn annoying' _

"Your idiot of a captain did do a number on me, that I'll admit. He had some guts, that kid. But I wasn't about to up and die without getting my revenge on dearest Nami."

He gestured to Nami, who was still hiding behind Sanji. Sanji stepped over, trying to cover Nami more. Not only because he knew that shark-face was dangerous to her and himself, but because he knew Nami was most definitely going trough shock. Seeing her biggest nightmare and tormentor of her past again had to be rough.

Arlong walked over to Sanji, not really paying mind to his threatening pose.

"Oi, fish-face! Step away, I don't want your stench to waft over here!"

Sanji aimed a kick at the bastard's face, but was caught by a surprise when Arlong easily grabbed his ankle. '_The hell-? This guy was never this strong!'_

Sanji attempted to free his leg, but found it unusually difficult. Swinging around, he aimed his other leg at the semi-man's throat, and to his smug relief, hit bulls-eye. Although Arlong choked a bit, he caught Sanji's other leg, too. Arlong laughed (causing Sanji to twitch in irritation) and hauled him up like a fish. Due to Arlong's size, it was more than easy. Sanji cursed and spat insults to the half-man half-fish, if nothing more, to try and get him mad. Sanji never lost his cool, so he often used other's temper to his own advantage.

"Quiet, little human." Arlong said, "I'm just looking for some fun."

He looked down to Nami, who was still frozen on the spot.

"Why don't we see what happens if I kill you before I get Nami? She'll have the joy of watching her friend die." Sanji didn't respond, only struggled more. As if he'd be scared of this guy. They'd finished him before, ('that was Luffy, Sanji, you know you don't compare!') and they could do it again. His non-caring attitude changed swiftly, however, as he heard the sickening crunch of bones being twisted and broken.

He felt immense pain in his ankle, and felt warm, trickling blood seep down his leg, down to his waist, and down his stomach. _'There go my tibia and fibula.' _Out of pure spite, he didn't make a sound, only winced and bit his teeth down. He was definitely not giving this bastard the satisfaction of hearing Sanji's screams.

But Nami was a different cause. Snapping back to life, she got up and ran to Arlong, not to fight him, but to plead with him.

"No, please! Let him go, Arlong, he doesn't have anything to do with this! I'll come with you, I'll do whatever you say, just let him go!"

"Nami-san!" Sanji wasn't sure whether to be irked by her groveling, or happy over her obvious worry for him. Or writhing in pain. That was probably number one on the list.

Arlong licked his lips, staring at Nami for a good, long moment. He bent down to her level, which was pretty far, and combed Nami's auburn locks out of her face, tucking them behind her ear. He smiled at her, and whispered,

"No."

Grabbing Sanji by the shoulders, he pushed his palms closer, slowly squeezing Sanji's shoulders together. Sanji kicked and wriggled, but didn't seem to be able to get loose. Something was definitely off about this, Arlong had never been _this _strong. Or rather, Sanji had never been this _weak_.

Nami was tugging at Arlong's elbows, begging him to stop, telling him she'd come with him, but inside wanting desperately to run away.

"Nami-san, don't worry. It's okay, I think it's just an ill-GAAH!" Arlong suddenly brought incredible pressure on Sanji's shoulders, resulting in the breath getting knocked out of him. He heard the joints creak under the impact, muscles bent in unnatural positions. Nami did her best to make Arlong stop, but the saw-shark flung her away like a rag doll.

She landed hard on her back, scrambling to her feet the second she hit the ground.

'_I can't let him hurt Sanji-kun, I can't, he can't die, not here, not because of me…'_

Sanji wanted to reassure Nami, but he didn't have the breath to. His shoulder blades cracked, sending pulses upon pulses of pain throughout his body. If Sanji could scream, he would have. Screw his pride, he had to let the pain out somehow.

Nami ran at Arlong again, determined to do everything in her power to stop him, but he punched her hard in the stomach with his ring-clad hand. She fell to the ground, gasping for air. Looking up pathetically, she could do nothing but watch as Arlong smashed Sanji's bones to fragments. Finished with his arms, Arlong grabbed Sanji's head next. Sanji's face was buried in the fish-man's palm, his hands weakly trying to claw at the arm. Slowly, but with bone-crushing force, he curled his fingers inwards.

Nami cried.

She could see what he was intending to do, but she couldn't stop him. She was still having trouble just keeping her head up.

Arlong's fingers bent inwards further, curling around Sanji's head with ease. Sanji was running out of oxygen, both his nose and mouth being covered with Arlong's palm. It smelled like fish, which didn't improve the situation. He tried biting, but not only was the taste disgusting, but the scaly skin was remarkably tough,

Nami stood up, but tripped again.

She didn't want this. '_Please, let me be dreaming, please make it stop, make it stop, make me be __**dead**__.'_

Arlong's strong hand closed, while he portrayed a sick, gleeful smile. Without blinking an eye, he cracked Sanji's scull. As easily as he would crumple a paper, he clenched his fist around Sanji's head, making Sanji's body go limp.

Nami screamed.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

"Zoro? What's going on?"

Luffy eyed his friend warily. His friend, who was bloody and tattered, and holding a sword to his throat. Luffy had seen that look in the other man's eyes before; it was the look he got when he was fighting an enemy, when he wanted to kill someone, when he _hated _someone. He had only displayed the look a few times, usuall only for a few seconds, but it was enough to burn the image into Luffy's memory.

Zoro bore pure contempt and utter hatred towards the person he directed this glare at, in this case, Luffy.

"Zoro?" Luffy tried again. "Why are you using your sword? Are you feeling ok?"

Zoro snarled at him, quite animal-like.

"Shut the hell up, you dirty bastard. You'd better stay still, or I'll lop your head off."

Luffy was taken aback by the man's words. He did sometimes insult people, especially Sanji, but with Luffy it was usually just 'idiot' or 'brat'. Never something spiteful, like 'dirty bastard'.

"Zoro, why are you acting like this? Are you sick? It's me; it's Luffy." Luffy tried to reason with him, because he felt Zoro was dead serious. If Luffy moved, Zoro _would _attack_. _

'_Why are you doing this, Zoro? Why are you acting like you're my enemy?'_

"Don't give me that crap, you ass. I know damn well who you are, you cheating little brat. Bet you didn't expect me to get my sword back, did you?"

Luffy was confused. And, just a little bit hurt. "Zoro, what's going on?" He tried a different tactic, "What happened to you?" Zoro spat blood on the ground. "What happened to me? Are you fucking kidding me? **YOU **happened to me!" That didn't help Luffy one bit. Zoro could be very unclear when he didn't want to talk about something. But what did he mean?

Luffy tried taking a step towards his friend, but was stopped by the tip of a sword.

"I said stay still!" Zoro's hand twitched, his always-scowling face scowling even more in rage.

"I swear, Luffy, I won't hesitate to hurt you! Don't make me, because…" Zoro let out a slow breath, "Because I don't _want _to."

Instead of Zoro's previously angry look, his eyes became fazed over with sadness and hurt. His sword didn't go down, but his arm lowered a little and his knees bent, and his stance signaled he was exhausted.

His eyes closed for a brief moment, and he staggered backwards, now lowering his sword in the process. When not focusing on the sharp blade in front of his nose, Luffy could see that Zoro really was hurt badly, worse than Luffy had thought. Luffy did worry about his swordsman sometimes, but if Zoro could keep fighting, Luffy knew he was going to be okay. But now, he looked desperately injured. Fresh blood was oozing from his mouth, and his clothes were torn to reveal bad wounds and bruises. Most of them looked like impact wounds, which probably led to broken bones and inward wounds. But most of all, he looked _tired._ "Zoro!" Luffy shouted when the green-haired man collapsed, his knees buckling under his weight.

Luffy shouted again when Zoro coughed up blood. He stumbled towards him, worried and confused at the same time. Zoro's eyes snapped open and he instinctively swung the blade in his hand.

Luffy winced as he felt his stomach go up in flames of white-hot pain, then fell backwards. He landed ungracefully on his backside, oof-ing as he plomped down. He clutched his waist, then put his hand in front of his eyes.

Blood.

Zoro had _hurt _him. His friend, his closest comrade and very first crewmate, practically his second older brother, had _**hurt **_him.

"Zoro, you….?"

Zoro was getting up, although with some difficulties.

"I told you," he rasped between breaths, "to stay put. Try to get up and I _will _kill you. I won't miss twice." Luffy's face was mixed with different emotions. Pain, confusion, sadness, anger, betrayal.

"Zoro, why are you doing this? You're my nakama, aren't you?" He yelled. His usual goofy and carefree manner was gone, now there was just anger and hurt. He couldn't understand why Zoro would do something like this. It was an unspoken agreement, but back on the other side, both of them had understood an silently vowed; they would die for each other. All of them, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper and Robin too. All of them were friends, comrades in arms, and they would never ever betray each other.

_-"-_

"_Luffy?" Back on the Going Merry, Zoro addressed his captain. Said captain was merrily sitting on the deck, watching the clouds. "What is it, Zoro?" Luffy smiled, not a care in the world, just sunshine and clouds. "I need you to do me a favour." Luffy turned to face the other man, a curious look on his face. "Okay, sure?" _'He didn't even wonder what I was going to ask for… he really is too trusting.' _Zoro thought to himself._ _"It's just… if anything happens so I, or any of us, abandon the crew for some reason or other, and turns against us, I need you to promise to not hold back." Luffy tilted his head like a confused little puppy. Zoro smiled (inwardly, of course.) "You need to care for your crew, captain. Even if it means hurting one of us in the progress." Luffy laughed, making Zoro now the one to look at him in question. "Of course I'll keep everyone safe! But I won't need to, 'cause not you, or me, or any of the others would ever betray us. You know that, right?" Zoro smiled at his captain's innocence and simple opinions. He didn't doubt anyone in his crew for even a second. That, he decided, was why they all loved him. "I know, Luffy. Just… keep it in mind, all right?" _

_-"-_

'_So why, Zoro?' _Luffy thought, facing reality again.

"You shut the fuck up about that 'nakama' crap! I fell for it once, and I'm not making the same mistake twice! I'm not ignorant!" Zoro roared at him. Luffy flinched at his harsh words, and at his stone-cold tone.

Zoro sighed. Un-furrowing his brow, but not lowering his sword, he looked Luffy in the eyes. Luffy had never seen his friend so tired and so insecure and so, _so _sad.

"I really did think we made a good team, Luffy. Hell, I was even started to consider us as friends…. I _seriously __**trusted **_you." His eyes hardened again, his lips thinning in a straight line. "Well, my mistake."

Luffy saw Zoro raise his sword, but didn't comprehend it. _'_

_My mistake.'_

These words echoed over and over in Luffy's head, even as Zoro's sword came down on his head and he saw a flash of searing white pain, then a black nothing.

'_My mistake.'_

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

**I hope you're pleased with this chapter. Things are getting more complicated, no~?**

**Am I the only one who finds it ironically funny they keep saying hell when they're in Hell? And that I use terms like '**_**dead**_** serious'?**

**Am I? Oh, okay then. Carry on…**

***Very random note* Usopp's character song (Usopp no hanamichi) is pretty damn catchy! Told ya he was a good singer ;)**

_She needed everything to be under control; and everything was now spinning out of control. _

"**I'm spinning out of control, out of control!" I love this song :D (out of control-Hoobastank)**

_But there was nothing, save from the faint scent of lilies._

**I couldn't find it on google, so I'll assume Kuina smells like lilies. I think it fits.**

"_ZOOOOROOOOO! OOOOOI! ZORO-RO-RO!"_

**Like I've said before, I can totally imagine Luffy twisting names around like that. Zororo.**

_where a sickening gap could be seen in his earlobe, where a gold earring had once hung._

**Remember? Nami found his earring. It's the top one that's missing, in case you're wondering.**

_He looked like shit._

**Referring to Zoro's comment at Kaku's giraffe form. "You look like shit!"**

"_Shee-she she she she!" _

**Isn't that kind of what it sounds like? That, or Sha-ha-ha-ha. I swear, out of the various kinds of One Piece laughs, this one I hated the most.**

_Arlong laughed (causing Sanji to twitch in irritation) and hauled him up like a fish._

**Pun very much intended.**

_but he punched her hard in the stomach with his ring-clad hand._

**They're actually piercing, not rings. But I thought this fitted better.**

_You're my nakama, aren't you?" _

**Scene was intended to be heavy. This is the only time I'll use the Japanese word. I just feel like nakama has a different feeling to it than friend/comrade.**

**Please keep following the story!**

**~You reviews bring a smile on my wittle face.~**


	10. Chapter 10

**I just realized I forgot the disclaimers and warnings on a few chapters. Oh well, I'm too lazy to fix it. You know what's a little silly? I haven't deleted a single review from my e-mail inbox. I just can't bring myself to it. I love them all 3 **

**(If you're confused about the whole mess in this story, feel free to ask me. It's hard to explain, but I'll do my best.)**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own One Piece or any of it's characters, and I make no profit of this story, only fun. Did you seriously think One Piece was mine? You stupid son of a biscuit.

**Warnings: **Chapter contains swearing and violence.

**Red Voident Dragon: Well… great minds think alike? ;)**

**Cb O chan: It all gets explained, don't worry! Yes, Luffy makes even the most serious circumstances laughable. That's why we love him so.**

**Fmdevil: Mwahaha, exactly as I intended it to! Thanks a lot for correcting that, you totally save me there xD**

**BrindyB: I'm glad you liked it, and yes, it's confusing as Hell. Bear with me, things will get clearer.**

_**[[[ONE WAY TICKET TO HELL]]]**_

"S-s-sa… San… j-ji…" Nami stuttered. She shook her head in disbelief, never averting her eyes from the mangled corpse that was once her friend. He was dead. No matter how strong or durable or inhuman he was, he was definitely dead. There was no way anyone could survive that, unless they were Luffy or some freaky devil fruit user with the ability to re-grow bones.

But Sanji was neither, and now he was dead.

"Monster!" She screeched at Arlong, who was wiping the blood off his hands on his shorts. "You, you inhuman, disgusting, vile pathetic bastard! How could you?" Tears were pouring freely from her eyes, she grasped the grass beneath her in vain attempts to calm herself down.

Arlong chuckled and walked over to her. She didn't wait for him, but sprung up and jumped at him. He swung her away easily enough, but she got up s fast as a cat and leaped again. This time, he caught her, but she sunk her teeth into his wrist, trying to hit the Median vein. Again, he shook her off like a fly and she stumbled backwards. By now, she was blind with rage. "You already took Bellemere! Why do you need to kill someone else? Won't you just leave me be?" Arlong raised his fist at Nami, who didn't make any attempt to dodge. She just stood there, shouting her heart out at him.

"Why can't I love someone without you taking him?"

If Arlong intended to answer, he never got the chance. Before his fist collided with Nami, she felt herself being gently but firmly pushed away. It was so unexpected to feel such a friendly gesture all of a sudden she tumbled and had to use a nearby tree to steady herself. Her mind was still dazed, all she saw before her was Arlong frantically clutching his eyes. Someone grabbed her hand, "Nami-san? Can you walk?", he whispered in her ear_. 'No… no, that's impossible…'_ When she didn't answer, he hauled her up piggy-back style. Soon, she was being carried away from Arlong, by Sanji.

"Sa…Sanji-kun?" She still refused to believe it too easily. If you got your hopes up too far, they were sure to be crushed down. Maybe she was just hallucinating, maybe she was already dead.

"At your service, as always, Nami-san. I'm sorry it took so long, I think my body went into shock for a moment. I hope you aren't injured?" Nami felt his muscles stiffen and move under his shirt, which surprisingly, wasn't blood-soaked. And, come to think of it, his head was perfectly fine instead of being smashed into an unsightly pulp. He seemed …fine. "Sanji, how is.. Did you..?" Sanji grinned; Nami couldn't see it clearly, but she heard it on his voice. "My assumptions were correct. It was just an illusion. I guess not only do we see things, but feel them too. I'm also guessing they're made so that we can't really fight them, seeing as how neither of us could even touch Mr. Fishface. If my other theories are correct, he's already disappeared now that you're away from him. Your mind is what made him come to life, after all." He laughed quietly. "It's not something I'd like to experience anytime again, if you pardon."

'_Illsuion? Arlong wasn't real? Sanji wasn't killed? It didn't really happen?' _Nami's mind ran in circles, but then stopped with a screech.

It wasn't real. Just a bad dream.

She clutched to Sanji's neck, and letting go of all her anger and fear, out of relief and happiness she cried her eyes out into his blue shirt.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

Luffy was lying on the forest floor. His head hurt a little, but not enough to make him care. He simply didn't feel like standing up.

His crewmate, Zoro, had betrayed him. Why? Luffy didn't know. Neither did he know why Zoro was acting so weird, like it had been Luffy who wronged him, or why he was all beaten and blue.

But _Zoro _had betrayed him.

Even if, when he momentarily knocked Luffy out in order to get away without being followed, he had used the blunt side of his sword, and made sure it didn't cause any damage.

Even when he had cut Luffy, it wasn't enough to really hurt him. Luffy knew Zoro; he could kill instantly with one, half-assed swing. Yet he had held back at Luffy, who was apparently his worst enemy now.

Luffy just didn't get it.

He heard footsteps approach, fast. '_Zoro?' _He thought, but the thought was literally kicked out of his head when Sanji emerged from the thick row of pine trees with a forlorn-looking Nami on his back, tumbling over Luffy and falling. All of them ended up in a very tangled pile; Luffy on the bottom, under Sanji's waist, Nami sitting on top of Sanji's shoulders. The latter, Sanji didn't really mind.

"You guys! Where did you go?" Luffy was very happy to see them. Nami was happy to see him too, but first things first. "Luffy! You were the one who ran off on us!" She exclaimed as she put a shoe in his face, getting off Sanji in the process. "Mellorine~" Sanji mumbled, thrilled about his precious princess sitting on top of him. He had even seen up her skirt.

"Oh, Sanji-kun! Sorry, I guess I squashed you." She apologized. "You squashed me, too!" Luffy protested, but was ignored. "Not to worry, Nami-san, it's perfectly fine. You're as light as the feather of an angel's wing, love." Sanji wasn't just flattering her, he briefly wondered whether she was eating enough.

Seeing Sanji was all right and back to his usual self, she relaxed. Her knees were still shaking from shock over seeing her worst enemy appearing, her friend get killed before her eyes and nearly getting killed herself. She let herself sink to the ground, letting out a long breath. Sanji was immediately by her side, asking if she was ok. "I'm fine, Sanji-kun, just a little shaken." she answered.

"Why? What happened to you two?" Luffy asked. "We met Ar-…" Nami started, but her voice hitched when she spoke the merman's name. "Ar? Who's Ar? A new friend?" Luffy asked. Sanji saw Nami was in no state to talk about the incident, so he started talking himself. "Remember what we said about illusions?"

-"-

By the time Sanji was finished, Luffy was angry on behalf of his friends. "That fish-bastard? But I finished him for good! He didn't hurt you, did he?" Sanji sighed and explained, _again_, that illusions couldn't really hurt you, only make it seem and feel like they did. "And, like Kuina-san, we think they disappear when the imaginer is too far away. I threw some sand in Arlong's eyes, therefore we managed to escape him. Otherwise, he'd have followed us."

"By the way," Nami said, "where is Kuina-chan? She evaporated when you ran off, but we thought she was with you." When his running off was mentioned, Luffy's gaze darkened as he realized the reason he had done so in the first place.

"Guys… I saw Zoro." Sanji and Nami were instantly upon him, asking for answers. "Marimo-head? Here? Where is he? Is he all right? Where did he go? Did you talk to him?"

Sanji kept a flood of queations at Luffy, but Nami stopped him, allowing Luffy some time to speak. "I met him, yes, and talked to him too. But he's not alright." He looked down, with such a puzzled expression both of them had to feel sorry for him. "He's… he's pretty hurt, for one. But I think his mind's hurt, too. It's like he's got everything wrong." Neither Nami nor Sanji could read minds, and therefore had no idea what Luffy meant, so he had to explain to them.

-"-

"He attacked you? _Him_? _**You**_?" Nami couldn't help her voice breaking at the highest points of her questioning. The idea of Zoro attacking Luffy for no real reason was appalling to her. Granted, they had fought before, and yes, it had come to punches between them more frequently than anyone else. But those times, it was usually Zoro trying to knock some sense into his captain, or a friendly spar ending abruptly due to dinnertime. Never had he actually hurt Luffy before.

Luffy was so disheartened by telling them of his and Zoro's meeting, Nami didn't need to question whether he was telling the truth. One look at his low-hanging head told her all she needed. "But… I mean, why? You're like, his precious little brother. He would never let anyone hurt you, let alone do it himself." Luffy sighed. "I don't know, Nami. It was like he considered me a threat." Sanji frowned. It was evident to anyone who had even the tiniest amount of intuition that Luffy valued his crew above anything else. He was their protector, and they were his in turn. He didn't need to worry too much about them getting hurt, because not only could they take damn good care of themselves, but if it came to it, Luffy would make sure they were okay. He always did, and he liked it that way. But what if his own comrade, one of his beloved, was to betray him and, according to Luffy, positively hate him? And for no special reason, either.

Luffy spoke up, as if he'd read his mind. "Zoro wouldn't do something like this out of nowhere. He must have a reason. We just have to somehow find out what it is." Nami touched her chin in thought. "Maybe he's scheming, you know, something against our enemy? You know how he gets, if he has to do something dangerous he'll do it alone. There's no way he'll just up and tell us what happened." All of them agreed silently. Zoro was a bit like that, never involving anyone in his plans, like he didn't trust them enough. It was frustrating to no end.

"Yes, that Roronoa Zoro is quite a handful, even for me."

Nami looked at Sanji, confused. "Sanji, since when do you call Zoro 'Roronoa'?" She tensed a bit when she looked at Sanji, who had his legs planted in a fighting stance, his back curled and ready to attack.

"That wasn't me, Nami-san."

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

Casually leaning up against a pine tree, an unfortunately familiar man was grinning at them from the tip of his hat. Nothing about him had changed, except he looked more…concrete. Before, he reminded them of smoke, sneaky and light. Now, he was more like obsidian; good-looking but alarmingly black and hard enough to crack a bone.

"You!" Luffy roared the instant he saw him, and pulled his arm back in order to snap it to the man's face. When his fist connected with what should have been the man's face, but was instead a tree trunk, said man was already behind them, sitting on the grass. "Easy, old bloke. No need for alarm, I'm not here to kill you. As if I could, you devil-fruit using bugger." Luffy didn't register the words, his mind swiveled around one thing and one thing only; this guy was the reason Zoro was here, which made him the reason they were here, and the reason Nami had to see Arlong again (she still looked alarmed) and probably the reason Zoro had gone bonkers. Therefore; punch the living lights out of him.

Before he managed to fling his rubbery arm back at the man, Nami was holding him back. "Hold it, Luffy! You can't hurt him, he's basically a God in here!"

"Luffy, we might need to hear what he has to say." she whispered so the Devil couldn't hear them, "He may have information about what happened to Zoro." At that, Luffy relaxed his muscles some, but his tension stayed. The Devil looked very pleased. "That's right, listen to the navigator lass. She's a bright one, she is. Although, much to my disappointment, not smart enough to figure out what's an illusion and what's not." Sanji was about to throw an insult and a how-dare-you-to-talk-to-Nami-san-that-way-I'll-snap-your-neck-and-cook-it, but Nami silenced him with the eye contact alone. She turned back to the Devil. "So, what is it you want from us? Clearly, you didn't appear just to observe us." the Devil jumped to his feet, and actually reminded them of a cat that had seen a mouse scurrying in the other end of the room. "Excellent question, love. See, I couldn't help but hear your little conversation, about the swordsman and his behavior. I intend to clear that up. Don't get me wrong," he raised his hands in a backing-off motion when Sanji and Luffy scoffed at him, "I'm not trying to keep you down by giving you false information. I'd just like to see the straw hat kid's reaction when he finds out what I did to his mate. I warn you, it ain't pretty. I am the Devil himself, after all." He grinned mischievously. "I love nothing more than breaking someone's spirit."

With a swirling of his cane, the air seemed to materialize, and they found themselves in a different place from the dark pine forest. Well, they weren't really _there_, per se. It was more like they were remembering something, seeing it in the back of their minds but not really in front of their eyes. Yet they saw each other, and the looks of dread and awareness. "Observe, children, my latest exhibit to my collection of broken toys."

They were on what appeared as a small mountain, with flat rocks and small patches of moss here and there. Up ahead, they saw Zoro, walking around in a very lost manner. Not that unusual for him, but still.

"…_the hell? Where the hell am I?" He scratched the back of his head, looking around. "Can't even remember how I got here… oi, Luffy? Curly-brow? Anyone there?" No answer, save from the faint echo the hills called back to him. "Just great, just fucking great. I must have amnesia or something, I don't remember shit. And I don't even have my sword. Perfect conditions to be standing on Mount Nowhere. And… whoa, I'm talking to myself now." He shook his head trying to rid himself of the need for sound in the painfully quiet hillscape. The stillness didn't last long. _

"_I always knew you were a bit off in the head, moss face, but I never figured you were insane. Then again, it's not a surprise." Sanji walked towards Zoro, who was too happy to see someone to reply with a good insult. Instead, he retorted "Keep your wittyness to yourself, cook." and walked towards him. _

Nami shot Sanji a questioning glance. "Sanji, you never said you'd met Zoro." Sanji shook his head. "I didn't. I've never had this conversation with him. That Devil bastard must be feeding us bullshit."

"Am not!" The Devil shot back in a very much so childish manner. "Shut up and watch, you bloody twat!" Sanji had every will to shout something back at the Devil so obviously enjoying himself.

He continued watching nonetheless.

"_Where are we, anyway? I can't seem to remember how I got here." Zoro asked. _

"_Geez, Zoro, is your tiny brain cracking already? I thought it'd last at least a week more." Nami answered. Zoro wondered for a second where she had come from, but didn't spare it a second thought. His mind didn't seem to be working right. He muttered out a "Shut it, witch." before Nami interrupted again. _

"_I know you have memory loss, but hopefully you haven't forgotten about the debt you owe me?" She asked. "What the hell does that have to do with anything? I shouldn't even have this debt!" Zoro shouted back. "Have to do with anything? I just want my share before you get killed. I don't like robbing dead men, you know." She smiled sweetly, but wickedly at him. Zoro frowned. "What? What are you tal- AAGH!" Zoro shouted in pain as Nami, who had brought her hand to Zoro's shoulder while talking to him, ripped out one of his trademark earrings. Drops of blood flew from his head as he instinctively tossed it backwards. _

"_WHAT THE FLYING FUCK, YOU BITCH?" Zoro yelled at her. Nami tossed the earring into the air, catching it in her hand when it came down. "It's pretty much 100% gold, right? That'll do; for now." _

_Zoro, fuming with rage, attempted to jump Nami and retrieve his jewelry, but was stopped by Sanji's dress-shoe, which he managed to narrowly avoid. "Don't soil Nami-san with your filthy hands, cabbage-head." Sanji let out a puff of smoke, speaking in his usual, calm-threatening manner._

"_Excuse me?" Zoro yelled back. "I don't know if you happened to miss it, but she just PLUCKED OUT MY FUCKING EARRING! Why the hell are you standing up for her?" _

_Sanji smiled around his cig. "If you're upset about one hole in the ear, bastard, you've got one hell of a shock awaiting you. A small rip is the least of your worries now." Zoro was about to bite back, but Sanji's leg came shooting at him so fast he had to jump to dodge. Landing on his feet, he was about to attack Sanji back, but was thrown to the side by a hard punch to his ribs. From a rubber fist._

_Coughing and spluttering, he landed on his shoulder, but dodge-and-rolled so he was now crouching on the ground. _'Well, there goes one rib.' _He thought as he felt up the tender area the attack had landed on, one rib clearly fractured. He followed the hand that had attacked him with his eyes as it retreated back to it's owner. His eyes found Luffy, standing in his usual outfit, grinning as always. "Luffy? What the hell was that for?" _

_Luffy giggled. "Come on, Zoro, you know when someone's fighting you. Why do you need to ask?" Zoro stared at him, mouth agape. Nami and Sanji walked over to Luffy, joining him each on one side. _

"_Okay, I don't know what's going on here, but all of you snap out of it, okay!" Zoro shouted at them. Luffy just laughed more. "Silly Zoro! Nothing's wrong with us, it's you that's need to snap out of it! Stop talking already! You have to fight us if you want to live, even if it won't do you any good."_

_Zoro swallowed. He had known Luffy for a long time, and been in enough battles wit him to know that his light talking was a concealed death-threat. He always reserved this kind of speaking for the people who's ass he was really going to kick. No matter how childish Luffy sounded, with that particular tone in the background, it was a promise of sure death._

"_Luffy. What is this about?" Zoro asked one final time. He didn't like where this was going. How Nami took out her clima-tact, how Sanji tapped his toe in the ground, and how Luffy just stood there armes crossed and legs spread wide._

_It was Nami who answered. "I can't believe you hadn't figured it out yet. Honestly, I didn't think anyone was that dumb. But, as always, you just had to prove me wrong, huh?"_

"_You really fell flat for all that comrade-crap. I thought you were at least more cautious than that, but boy, was I wrong." Sanji said. Zoro remained silent._

"_Yeah, I kind of thought you were stronger than that." Luffy said. "It's not like I ever really intended you to be in my crew. I just needed someone to travel with until I found _real _crewmates. Once I got Nami, I was going to get rid of you. You know, ditch you in some port town or something. But she told me to wait until later, because you'd probably get a lot of bounty on your head. I promised she could keep the money, if I got to land the finishing blow on you." Luffy's smile grew wider, but his brow furrowed at the same. "I hate pirate hunters. It was hard waiting all this time to kill you, but it was worth it. Now I'll finally get to see your head off your body." _

_Zoro had stood up, and was in a ready-to-bolt-dodge-or-fight-back stance. He took in the sight of all of them standing in front of them, like muggers ganging up on an old, defenseless man. He smelled blood-lust, he tasted the familiar copper-like tinge of blood on his tongue, he heard Luffy's slight giggle and he felt his hips annoyingly bare when there were no swords to shield them. Every single one of his senses was screaming at him to run, that he was in over his head and would die at any given moment. But his mind was too busy spinning in circles to listen._

_He should have listened. A bolt of lightning zapped right where his feet were and he would have been hit had he not jumped out of the way. As soon as he hit the ground, he saw a sole approaching his face at alarming speed and bent backwards, avoiding it by a hair. The shoe was followed by the shouts of "Gomu-gomu no Pistol!" and a fist as dangerous as a bullet dove for his chest. He managed to jumps backwards enough to minimize the impact, but it still knocked some breath out of him. Zoro was fairly sure he heard that slightly fractured rib break a little more. Luffy, his former captain, comrade, _friend_, casually trotted over, still smiling like he always did._

"_You know, by having you on my ship all this time, I know all your weaknesses. And not just the ones in battle." Luffy taunted. " I know how you can't fight kids because you actually like them. I know how you won't attack someone if his back is turned to you or if he's lying down. But I also know how you get nightmares sometimes, about accidentally hurting one of us without meaning to or about walking down stairs, only to find a mangled body by the end of them." Luffy snorted, and Zoro felt himself blush out of awkwardness as the raven-haired boy revealed something he'd rather not have anyone know. "You even trusted me enough to hand me your swords. Even the one that girl gave you, your biggest treasure. I guess you blew it, hunh? Now you can't even try to protect yourself." _

"_And even if you did have your sword, you wouldn't be able to kill us, would you?" Robin continued. _

'Wait, when did Robin get here? And there's Usopp and Chopper, too. Have they been here all this time?'

"_Because you made the mistake of allowing us into your circle of trust. Even me, who you _know_ should have killed from the moment you saw me on the ship." _

_All of them, his crew, were gathering on him, forcing him to back further and further away. He bypassed some pachinkos Usopp sent to him, one of them clipping his temple. He got caught by surprise as Chopper had snuck to his unguarded side and rammed him in the back in his Horn Point. Zoro stumbled, and got caught by Robin's hands. While all other times she had caught him, it was friendly and meant to protect, but this time she attempted to break his neck. Zoro twisted like an eel, kicking Robin hard in the wrist as he did so. She winced and her additional limbs vanished. A few meters away, she rubbed the spot he had kicked, a black bruise already forming. Sanji was dangerously enraged by Zoro hurting his beautiful angel and resumed trying his best to handicap Zoro. All the while, Zoro was trying _**not **_to hold back, but his body didn't seem to go along with trying to kill his ex-comrades_. 'I don't have time to play nice guy! This is about kill or get killed! Even if they are-were my 'friends'…I am not giving them my head!'

_Zoro let out a battle roar as he gave Usopp his best punch in the stomach, sending the boy rolling._

'Gloves off.'

_-"-_

_The battle went on for a long while. It was amazing Zoro was still alive. Three of his ribs were broken, some of them almost beyond repair. A few zaps of lightening and FireStars from Nami and Usopp gave him some 3__rd__ degree burns, most of them on his arms. Robin had broken his leg, which was twisted at an odd angle now. Chopper and Sanji had definitely given him a concussion (_Funny how it's the doctor that hurt me.' _despite his severe injuries, Zoro chuckled to himself, followed by '_Oh no, did I just laugh? I'm going nuts.'_). But all the blows from Luffy resulted in his muscled being beaten like meat being tenderized, sometimes tearing them. Luffy had also landed a hit ion his stomach, and Zoro could practically feel his insides bleeding. Against all of them, and against Luffy and Sanji, who were the only ones to match and possibly outmatch his strength, in addition to not having even one sword, it was an unfair battle. Yet, somehow, Zoro was still standing. _

_But not for long. _

_When a well-aimed Exploding Star from Usopp hit him square in the face, he toppled backwards. Everyone had advanced on him to great lengths, so he was now standing on the edge of the cliff. When the explosion came, he fell over, plummeting towards the rocky foot of the mountain. His stomach lurched at the sudden lack of gravity, and he didn't realize his head and legs had switched places until too late. '_Ironic much? I'm going to break my neck falling, just like _she _did. Che… this is pathetic:' _He braced himself for the clash of his head and the ground below, definitely resulting in the display of his brains. He was already battered and bruised, a fall so high should kill him._

_But then again, a lot of things that should have killed him, never did._

_-"-_

_Waking up from unconsciousness, Zoro coughed a considerable amount of blood before opening his eyes. It took him a long while to be able to move. He tried moving his fingers and toes first, seeing if his spine had been severed in any place. Next came moving his knees upwards, using his elbows to prop the rest of his body up. He half-sat in the midst of the rubble for a bit, thinking back to what had happened. He looked about to just drop down and die…_

_Until a very dangerous gleam settled in his eyes, making his strained muscled taut and his jaws clench._

_He was not dying yet. Not here. Not because of _them_. _

_Not like this. _

_He stood up, staggering and swaying alarmingly to the side, but caught his balance and started walking/limping towards whatever looked like a safe haven; a forest. _

_Even as he tottered, badly damaged in every way, he still gave off an unwavering aura, one of not giving up._

_Inside himself, he swore not to trust anyone again._

_-"-_

Without realizing it, Nami felt tears slide town her cheeks. The display she had just seen bordered on a horror movie, in and of itself. And seeing herself hurting someone so close to her was frightening at best.

Now that the strange window to the past was gone from her mind, Nami looked at Sanji and Luffy. Sanji was quite obviously experiencing the same thoughts as she was, as he brought a hand to his forehead trying to calm himself. In spite of all of his and Zoro's bickering, they were actually very close. It had to be strenuous for him as well, to see himself brutally beating his friend.

Nami moved over to Luffy, and was not surprised to find what she did. His eyes were wide open, and whether the tears were from keeping them so wide or from distress, Nami didn't know. He was shaking his head a little, denying the memory of seeing himself break and injure his best friend. What was most frightening of all was how much the other them had been in character. The voices were the same, the attacks were the same, the personas were the same. The only way to know it was fake was by knowing _you _had never done all that.

The Devil was almost squealing in utter joy as he watched their reactions. "See? This is why he hates you now, straw-hat Monkey D. Luffy. Because you betrayed his trust and tried to kill him! Doesn't it make sense?" He was eye-level with Luffy, who was still in a trance, not blinking, even when the Devil leaned in so far their noses almost touched. "His greatest fear, Monkey D. Luffy, was being betrayed by the people he loves and trusts, namely you people. He'll never let you near him again. Oh, just think, the acknowledgement and bonds you worked so hard on forming with the man are broken forever. And you know what's best?" the Devil's smile, if you could call it that, grew wider and he leaned back, barely keeping the laughter bubbling in his throat.

"When he first got his senses back, you know what he thought?" His voice changed all of a sudden, sounding just like Zoro's, so much it was creepy.

"'_What did I do wrong? Did I fail as a crewmate, as a friend?… Is that why they hate me?'_"

Sanji looked like he was going to be sick. Nami bit her lower lip, trying to restrain herself. Luffy had finally snapped from his hypnotic state, and was now looking in a mixture of anger, towards the man who had tortured his comrade, and fear, over hearing what would come next out of this disgusting Devil's mouth.

"He actually blamed himself for this! On top of being fatally injured and having a shattered pride, he was also self-loathing! Just when I thought it couldn't get better! In the end, of course, he stopped accusing himself of failing as crew, but instead beat his head against the stone for allowing himself to make the mistake to trust and care for people. That idiot's just too much!"

Luffy was shivering with emotion. Rage, fury, lust for blood, violence, fear, resentment, regret, sadness, disgust, loathing. He didn't even bother to shout gomu-gomu no when he desperately tried to land a fatal hit on the Devil, who only laughed, tilted his hat and took a bow before vanishing again like a dying wind.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

**So, that's about the wrap. I feel like this chapter's short, but it's over 5000 words…ohwell, lol.**

**Zoro is the paranoid-non-trusting type, so I figured building trust in someone and then have it shattered would be something not-so-short of a nightmare to him.**

**-"-**

"He's… he's pretty hurt, for one. But I think his mind's hurt, too.

**Luffy saying something like 'His mind's hurt' is cute to me. Don't ask why.**

But those times, it was usually Zoro trying to knock some sense into his captain, or a friendly spar ending abruptly due to dinnertime.

**Notice how when they fight (whiskey Peak, Arabasta desert) it's always because Zoro's trying to help Luffy? Aw.**

Now, he was more like obsidian; good-looking but alarmingly black and hard enough to crack a bone.

**Google it. It's a pretty, black shining stone.**

You can't hurt him, he's basically a God in here!"

**Obvious pun is obvious, and intended.**

**-"-~Since you're already at the bottom, you might as well review~**


	11. Chapter 11

**I've been asked why Zoro believes the illusions in Hell so easily, so I'm going to try and clear that out in this chapter. It may work out-of-storyline, but keep in mind I'm doing some serious explaining.**

**-"-**

**BrindyB: As always, thanks. I'm glad you like it :]**

**Red Voident Dragon: Thanks so much :D And yes, the guy's an ass, but I strangely like him O_o**

**fmdevil: Damn! I keep trying to surprise you people, but you always seem to know what's coming xD**

**ancantsia: Maybe he is, I know I would be.**

**cy-grl: Thank you ^ ^ **

**wishing-for-a-zoro-plushie: Nice name :D I get that a lot, yes, and I'm going to try and explain it in this chapter. I hope it works out ^ ^**

**Shrinkhead13: Thank so much, I'm glad you like it so :D (I love Zoro-friendship-hurt stuff too 3)**

_**[[[ONE WAY TICKET TO HELL]]]**_

Luffy, Sanji and Nami sat in a circle on the grass. none of them had moved since they saw what had happened to Zoro except for sitting down. All were trying to figure out a way to make Zoro believe them and accept the fact that they were trying to help. It was easier said than done, seeing as how the swordsman believed they were trying to kill them and _would _fight back if they approached. "Can't we just get him out into the real world?" Sanji asked. "I mean, he's bound to want to get out of here, right? Once we're all out, he can take his time to accept the fact we're not back-stabbing murderers." Luffy's face brightened up at the idea, partially because they may have formed a plan to get their friend back and partially because he really wanted to get out of there. This place made him edgy, like he was expecting someone to jump at him anytime. _'This place, it's just… bad.' _he thought.

"It's not as clean-cut as that." Nami said. "We really need him to trust us again. I probably should have mentioned this before, but we can't get away without him."

"Of course we can't! We're not leaving him!" Luffy immediately said. Nami fidgeted slightly, regretting not telling them sooner. "Of course not, but that's not what I meant. To get out, we need to go trough a gate of some kind. But that gate can be in any form, anywhere. It could be a actual doorway, or it could be a spring, or a rock, anything really. Zoro is the only one who would recognize the door, since this is his world. We could escape without Zoro, but it would take ages to find the right door." Sanji stroked a hand over his face. "Great. Just great. Not only has marimo gone AWOL on us, but we need him to get out of this hellhole? Freakin' prefect."

"Shouldn't we get going then? To look for Zoro, I mean. The sooner we get him, the better, right?" Luffy asked. Nami nodded, "Yes, that much is true. The longer Zoro stays, the more confused and insane he'll get. In a few days, he might not even know himself anymore." Sanji raised an eyebrow. "What? 'Cause he thinks we betrayed him? Isn't that a bit… dramatic?" he asked. Yes, having your friends betray you probably took it's toll, but enough to drive someone 'round the bend?

Nami shook her head, "No, not really. That particular illusion was just the beginning. The longer he stays, the more twisted and horrible things will appear as illusions. You wouldn't want to be here when that happens. It's…" Nami paused, shifting her sitting stance. "It's just _disgusting_." A small shiver went trough all of them as they imagined the things Zoro might be seeing. All kinds of eerie scenarios went trough their minds as they tried to fight the thoughts of just how dangerous this place really was. Luffy stood up. "In that case, we'd better go now. I wouldn't want Zoro to go trough anything else." Everyone agreed to that, even Sanji, and they headed out to find Zoro.

After walking for a while, Sanji started wondering how they were going to find him. He voiced his thoughts to Nami. _'Why can't Robin be here? She's so much better at explaining things than I am…' _Nami thought before trying to remember everything Robin had told her, which wasn't much. "This place revolves around Zoro. It shifts and changes along with him. All we have to do is go wherever we want, and we'll end up with Zoro. " Sanji was still confused, quite obvious by the look on his face, so Nami continued. If she tried explaining it in her own way, it made more sense to her. "Imagine the world. It's a ball, right? So imagine the world much smaller, about the size of a small city. No matter where you walk, you're bound to end up in the same place you started." Sanji got that. "It's like that, but we're bound to end up near Zoro, because he is the creator of this place." Sanji nodded in understanding. It was still a little shady to him, but she got the basics. "So that guy created this place?" Sanji asked. Nami looked at him in question. "You already knew that, didn't you, Sanji?" He nodded. "Yeah, I knew. It's just…" He looked away from Nami. "…well, I've got to hand it to him, he sure knows how to create a nice landscape." Truthfully, Sanji had never imagined his enemy-friend as someone with such a complex and, well… beautiful mind. The landscape wasn't spectacular, but it was breathtaking in it's own way. Not because of looks, but the feeling to it. All of them looked around. They had walked towards a small peek, and were standing above what seemed to be a gigantic lake such a rich blue colour it could never have existed in reality. Patches of fog were lying over the grass, giving their surroundings a cold but peaceful feel. They could see their breaths in the cold, mountain-like air, small crystals made patterns on the grass in the frost. It wasn't colorful or bright or strangely unordinary, like having yellow trees, but it still had a fantasy-like feeling.

The sound of clashing metal interrupted their scene-watching. All of them looked at each other, and a silent understanding passed. Luffy, Nami and Sanji ran towards the sound. Luffy smelled the familiar aroma of steel and dark pine. It was bound to be Zoro.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

They ran for a bit, but the sound seemed to move too. Whoever was fighting had to be running around just as much as they were. "Guys, remember, you might be seeing another us or another you, judging by what we saw when that Devil-guy appeared, but don't hesitate to attack them."

They gave her a thumbs up and kept running. Soon they made it out to a clearing near the lake they had seen while on top of the hill. They had expected the sight, but it was unnerving all the same. Zoro was fighting _them_. He had his sword now, so he was slightly better off, but it was obvious he couldn't hold on much longer. Luffy knew he had been hurt before, and though it seemed impossible, he was even more hurt now. Illusion-Nami was spinning her clima-tact over her head, creating a strong wind that blew the swordsman off-balance. Illusion-Sanji dropped to a handstand and spun his legs like a fan, but Zoro narrowly blocked with his swords. Even though illusion-Sanji hadn't hit him, it still took him a lot of strength not to fall down. He was at his limits.

Nami remembered how her and Sanji hadn't been able to touch Arlong, and that seemed to be the case here too. While Zoro was barely recognizable trough bruises and grime, none of the illusions had a scratch on them, save for maybe a small cut here or a tiny bruise there. Without thinking about it, Luffy charged into the battle, knocking the illusion-Luffy away from Zoro. Illusion-Luffy was thrown backwards, and was soon followed by illusion-Nami and illusion-Sanji. '_Strange'_, Nami thought. _'Luffy can handle them so easily. Probably due to his Devil-fruit ability.'_ She recalled something about Luffy being immune to the illusions, which was probably why he could land a hit on them when no one else could. The illusions were knocked out of sight, and didn't emerge back. It appeared that Luffy's mere being there chased them away like light chases away cockroaches.

Zoro looked like someone had just hit him over the head. With a ten-ton bell. He was absolutely dumbstruck. "Wait…what the…" He looked at them with wide eyes, then looked to where the illusions had disappeared, then back to them. Sanji had to stifle a laugh at the swordsman's confused expression. He might have been on drugs, he was so out of it. "How the hell can YOU," Zoro pointed at them with his sword, "and those-those, those OTHER YOU, be here at the same time? Why are there _two _of you?" Zoro shouted. Sanji attempted to walk over to him, but was stopped when Zoro very obviously pointed his sword at him. "Step away! Just, just… get, the **HELL**, away from me, whatever you are!" Sanji raised his hands and backed off. Zoro seriously needed some personal space.

"Zoro, it's us, the _real _us. We're just trying to help, okay?" Nami tried reasoning with him. She feared Zoro had already had a mental breakdown and was beyond bringing back. The way he was panting and sweating, and twitched with every small sound that made it to his ears, made him look like a deranged maniac and that probably wasn't so far off from the truth. He raised a hand to his temple, closing his eyes in confusion. "Am I going nuts?" Sanji heard him mutter. Nami seemed to take his slightly less threatening stance as an invitation to come closer, so she approached him. Out of reflex, he swung his sword at her. It nearly hit, but Nami managed to side-step it, so it only cut off a bit of her hair.

'_I am so raising his debt by 1000 beli.'_

She couldn't stop herself from screaming, though, and that brought Sanji's attention. "Shitty marimo, what the hell do you think you're doing to Nami-san?" He roared as he lunged at Zoro, who dodged and slashed at him with the sword, but slipped and ended up on one knee. "Sanji-kun, don't! I'm fine, really!" Nami yelled at him. When Sanji was thinking about his ladies, he sometimes seemed to forget other things around him, including the fact that Zoro was dangerously hurt and shouldn't be fighting or even standing. This made Zoro look even more confused. He looked between Nami and Sanji in complete and utter confusion. "What the fuck is this? One second you're trying to rake my guts out, the next you're trying to protect me?" He directed his words to Nami. Sanjji had to bite his lip to not yell at Zoro for talking to her in such an undignified way. Luffy walked over to him, but unlike Nami, he wasn't stopped with a sword. Instead, Zoro backed away a bit, but seemed to do so without wanting to. "Like she said, Zoro. We're trying to help you." Zoro backed away further as Luffy came closer. "I don't trust you. I _can't _trust you. What if you're just scheming something? If it's a trap? I can't risk it." Zoro wanted to trust them, he really did. He wanted so bad to believe that it was all a misunderstanding, that they were still comrades and not enemies trying to kill each other, because Zoro didn't _want _to hurt any of them. But he couldn't take the chance to trust them, if they were just going to break that trust again. It was too risky. He tightened the grip on his sword and raised it at Luffy again, but with the blunt end facing him. "Just… get away, Luffy." Luffy didn't budge. He was not leaving his friend here. Zoro was _going _to go back to normal, and they were _going _to be friends again. There were no other options. Luffy was about to say something back, but a familiar, soft girl's voice caught the chance first.

"Zoro, listen to them. They're telling the truth!" Zoro spun on his heels, completely ignoring Luffy now. In front of him, standing just like he remembered her, with her dark, almond eyes and the straight back, a kid but still a mature and reasonable person, was his dead childhood friend. Kuina.

Zoro's eyes grew impossibly wide, challenging Luffy's in size. He wasn't even scowling anymore. Sweat was layering his brow, not out of stamina but out of surprise. His shoulders sagged from fighting stance to I-give-up stance. The expression he wore was one of total shock. He dropped his sword, staggering backwards. He let out a sharp breath, not daring to breathe it back in in irrational fear that it would somehow make his thought-to-be-lost rival-friend fade away. "I've gone mental." he murmured, before dropping to his knees and fainting.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

Luffy had used Zoro's bandana as a cloth on his forehead. Dipping it into the nearby lake, then winding the excess water out, he trotted over to where his green-haired friend was lying, completely out of the world. Kuina was sitting next to him, looking incredibly guilty. "I'm really sorry. I figured, since I'm not the one that's been attacking him, he'd listen to me. I couldn't imagine he'd be this shocked to see me." Nami waved her hand. "It's all right, Kuina-chan. This actually helps a lot, since we can mend his wounds now without him trying to kill us." Nami tried to sound cheery, but was still worried about her friend. Zoro was injured, for one. Every part of him that could be hurt, was hurt. But she was more worried about his fever and how he moaned and shifted in his sleep, as un-peaceful as one could possibly be when one was blacked out. Since his white shirt had been badly torn anyway, they used it as bandages on Zoro. It wasn't enough to cover the damagfe that had been dealt to him, so Sanji voluntarily gave them his shirt. He was wearing a jacket over, so it wasn't a problem for him. The makeshift bandages were a little silly, a mix of dirty white and blue, but it was better than letting him bleed out. What was really to worry about were his internal injuries and broken bones. Nami had some medical knowledge, but she didn't have the tools to repair or mend to them.

Luffy squatted next to Zoro's head and put the damp cloth on his forehead. Zoro calmed a little by that, but didn't stop furrowing his brow or gritting his teeth. Sanji was sitting on a rock nearby. He was so aching for a cigarette, he pondered if he should try chewing on a stick, just to take his mind of things. But eating an imaginary stick from the deepest hell of his friend's mind wasn't something that was on his top-priorities list. So, his hands kept shaking and he was as annoyed as ever. He briefly wondered if _his _Hell was like this… no cigarettes.

"Why the hell is that marimo so untrusting, anyway?" Sanji knew he was striking a low blow, but _damnit_, he needed to vent his frustration somehow. "That guy should have been able to see something was up, right? Shouldn't believe some shitty illusions so easily." Nami shook her head. She understood Sanji's anger, not to mention he was in withdrawal, but he didn't really have any valid reason to be angry.

Luffy continued staring at his momentarily fallen comrade. He had wondered the same thing. Why did Zoro believe their betrayal so easily? Didn't he trust them more than that? True, he had been unwilling to hurt Luffy, and seemed to have a small clue that something wasn't right, but still…

Nami noticed Sanji's chewing on his lip and Luffy's distanced staring, so she decided to try and clear things up, if only to fill the silence and drown out Zoro's faint mumbling in his sleep.

"It isn't that simple. When I saw Arlong, I should have known it was an illusion. I mean, I just said to Sanji not to be bothered by what we saw, and I still lost it. But…" she tried to find decent words to describe the weird, cold feeling of seeing something like the kind she had. "When you see the illusion, it's like your sense of logic leaves you. You should know it's not real, but you don't. It's…. like having a nightmare. In the nightmare, things that shouldn't be happening are happening. You should be able to figure out that all you have to do is open your eyes and it's all gone, but in the nightmare it _**IS **__real _to you. When you wake up, you see something's not right, and the dream was never really happening. But while in the nightmare, you can't tell the difference." Nami nodded, happy that she could explain it this well. It should make sense, even to Luffy. Sanji looked down, ashamed that he had actually blamed the swordsman for being too gullible. Of course it wasn't his fault. Sanji thanked whatever was almighty for not having seen an illusion himself. From what he had seen, it was something you'd really rather avoid, should you want to stay with your mind in one place.

Luffy understood what Nami said. He sometimes had nightmares, and he knew how it was. When she put it like that, he could understand why Zoro was behaving so strangely. But would Zoro come to his senses? Luffy hoped so. He didn't even want to imagine what it would be like if Zoro would leave him.

He did love all his friends, and existence without any of them was an unbearable thought. But Zoro was a little different. Zoro had been there from the start, his first crewmate. Even if it was because of blackmail. Despite his multiple chances and reasons, including the fact he didn't even want to join Luffy in the first place, Zoro had never made any attempt to leave, probably had never thought about it, and had never shown anything but complete trust. Every time Luffy was in doubt about something, he just had to look back, and sure enough, Zoro was standing there.

Zoro always had his back. Now Luffy had to have Zoro's.

Kuina was watching Zoro sleep. Truth be told, Kuina was still amazed to see the loudmouth, cocky little kid she once knew as a grown man. There was a similarity to him and that kid she had known, but it still caught her eye. Absent-mindedly, she raked her hand trough his hair, then tracing it down his face. It was jsutso weird, that her childhood rival had grown to be so… well, handsome for one, but more …different. Something drew Kuina's attention as she was pondering this, and a dread formed in her stomach and her heart plunged when she realized what it was.

Zoro wasn't breathing.

Eyes wide in panic, she grabbed Luffy's vest. "Luffy!" He had been lost in thought, also watching the swordsman, but now he saw what she saw. A sharp pang of adrenaline cursed trough his veins, and for just a second, for the first time in his life, he actually _feared _for the life of his friend. Thankfully, all thoughts of him dying were erased when Zoro bolted up, breathing raggedly. Sitting up made him fall back down, holding his head. Opening his eyes and seeing Luffy staring down at him, followed by Nami, made him try to sit up again but he didn't have the strength. It was a never-ending circle of getting up and falling down again. Sanji quickly jogged over and dragged Luffy away from the swordsman, much to his dismay, motioning to Nami to move away too. She didn't get the purpose, but backed off anyway. She soon saw why. Upon seeing them, Zoro had obviously started, causing his heart to beat faster which caused him to be in more pain. Now that they backed away, he seemed to relax a bit, and managed to half-sit up.

"Sanji, what are you doing? Zoro won't hurt me, you know!" Luffy protested. Sanji shut him up with a tap on the head with his leg. "Luffy, Zoro needs space. Right now he's like a wounded animal, and we can't make him see us as a threat." Luffy frowned slightly at the animal reference, but stayed silent. Zoro glared at them, but didn't try to stand, knowing it would be too trying and he would definitely fall back down in a very undignified manner. "What do you want?" He asked them in a ragged voice. His hand was still clasped tightly around the hilt of his sword, but he didn't make an attempt to harm them. That was a plus, in their eyes, considering he did try to kill them a couple of times.

Nami walked a step closer, but seeing him tighten his grip on the sword, decided against it. Then Sanji got a idea. Gently but firmly, he pushed Luffy forward. Whispering, he said, "Try reasoning with him, captain. Me and Nami will be right there, but I think you two should have a moment."

He took Nami's hand and led her away from the captain and his swordsman, and they walked together until they were out of view, although not so far away from Luffy they would start seeing things again.

"Sanji, what was that about? Why can't we stay?" She asked him, although she had a good idea for the reason. Sanji was mildly flattered that she had followed him without knowing the purpose, but the noodle-dancing and heart-eyes would have to wait a better time. "Zoro's still acting like we're going to bite him at any moment. If anyone's going to make him understand that we're not trying to kill him, it's Luffy." Sanji said. He fumbled in his breast pocket for a cigarette, before remembering he had none and twitched in irritation. _'When we get out of here, that moss-head is really going to owe me one.'_

Nami nodded. "I guess you're right." she sighed. "Let's just hope it won't take too long. I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

-"-

Luffy watched Nami and Sanji walk away before making his way to Zoro. The green-haired man tensed visibly, but Luffy didn't stop or slow down. He walked over and sat right in front of him, legs crossed and hands holding his ankles. He and Zoro stared each other in the eye for a good, long while. Zoro with distrust and doubt in his eyes, Luffy noting but honesty itself. Not a word was uttered between the two, and they sat in complete silence, talking with their eyes. Finally, Zoro's form relaxed, and the grip he had on Wado softened, but didn't retreat completely. "Luffy?" He asked. Luffy smiled and nodded. One word was said, just one name, and they understood each other completely. Zoro closed his eyes, all strain left his body, and he put the sword down. Luffy smiled wider, joy blossoming inside him, and he handed Zoro the bandana that had fallen of his head when Zoro woke up. Zoro took the bandana silently, tying it around his bicep. He felt strangely more complete, now that it was in place. Luffy put on his question smile, which to almost everyone else was just like his normal smile but Zoro saw the difference, and the swordsman nodded once, a barely visible nod. The silent conversation was over, and they had a mutual understanding. Zoro understood that Luffy had no intention to harm him in any way, and was asking for his trust. Luffy understood that Zoro wasn't going to attack them, but wasn't quite ready to trust them again either, not just yet. And Luffy respected that. All that mattered was that Zoro was on the right track, and would hopefully trust them again soon.

The sun in the make-believe world of Hell emerged from the clouds, casting it's golden rays on the two friends who had reached an understanding without speaking a word to the other.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

**-"-**

'_This place, it's just… bad.' _he thought.

**I can think of some many synonyms for bad, but it's the most Luffy-like word.**

Luffy smelled the familiar aroma of steel and dark pine.

**Zoro really smells like steel, but I thought it was too plain, so I added the pine-smell. I think it fits. Also note that there are a lot of pine trees in this story, both because I like them and because I think they fit Zoro's character.**

**-"-**

**I hope you guys now get why Zoro believed the illusions so soon. I explained it the best I could (trough Nami's mouth, of course).**

**By the way, am I the only one that thinks this -"- looks kinda like Darth Vader upside down?**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry this took so god-forsakenly long, but I've been feeling… unmotivated towards this story for a while. I hope you haven't lost interest in it. My deepest apologies. *Bow***

**Other than that, happy Easter everyone :D **

**Zyrz**_**: **_**I know. I am too, buddy.**

**Shrinkhead13: That promise is greatly appreciated, thank you very much. :D I don't know if Kuina will appear again, probably though. And, the danger has definitely not passed. *hence, the cliffhanger* Hope you stay tuned =)**

**Red Voident Dragon: Really? What did you think? :D **

**Fmdevil: I know, I hope the fluff didn't choke you xD**

**Cy-grl: I know, right? :DD**

**Chaosgenes: Thanks, I appreciate it. Could you tell me the name of the story? I'm a bit of a fan of Stephen King =)**

**Fieryfly: Thanks a lot, I'm really glad you like it. I actually have evidence of them not needing to talk to each other to have an understanding. **

**Thanks for all your reviews, they keep me going!**

_**[[[ONE WAY TICKET TO HELL]]]**_

It was nighttime in Hell.

Sanji really didn't get how Hell could have night and day, and a sun and a moon, and even a cold breeze, but hey, nothing ever made sense anymore anyway. He wouldn't be surprised if he'd find talking marimos roaming the valley. In fact, he'd laugh and make fun of the resemblance between the moss-balls and Zoro.

The same Zoro who refused to go to sleep or even close his eyes for a second. Sanji's jaw set in annoyance. He wasn't trying to kill them or run away from them anymore, that's true, but he still didn't let his guard down.

Right now, he was sitting with his back to a rock a little way away from them, eyeing a sleeping Luffy and Nami and a still-awake-due-to-withdrawal Sanji, holding his katana at the ready. He was the epitome of awareness and suspicion. Every slight move Sanji made, or any nonsense Luffy mumbled in his slumber, Zoro would tense up and hold his sword tighter, until the movement or noise subsided. "Oi, stupid. Why won't you just get some sleep? No one's going to molest you or anything." Sanji half-whispered, no wanting to wake his beautiful sleeping beauty, Nami. Zoro's eyes narrowed at him, "Because I still don't get what the hell is going on here. You say anything I see could be my imagination, right? Then how do I know if you guys are real? Maybe you're not even here, an I'm just sitting in some god-forsaken alley talking to myself! Maybe you're just illusions and someone's messing with my mind! I can't know for sure! Of course I'm a little on edge!"

Sanji raised his eyebrow silently. A little on edge? The guy looked like he was about to go into seizures. The last time he'd seen Zoro so 'on edge' was when Luffy and Usopp swore to give him the pranking of a lifetime on April Fool's, by stuffing fireworks everywhere the poor swordsman went. His bed, his napping place, the training room, the galley (Sanji had nearly killed them for that), even his pants. They'd made Chopper carry a lot of it out, knowing Zoro would never hurt the little reindeer. It took Zoro two days to stop suspecting explosions and fire everywhere. It took Usopp and Luffy six days until their swelling bruises went away, courtesy of Zoro.

The sound of rustling leaves erupted from the forest, making Sanji slightly jump and Zoro have a freak spasm. Sanji didn't even bother to hold down his laughter, maybe he quieted it down a notch to not wake anyone up, but it was loud enough for the swordsman to hear. "Shut your trap, dartboard!" Zoro hissed trough his teeth. Sanji knew it was a bit low to laugh at the guy when he had gone trough all that stuff, even if it did make him as jittery as a mouse. But sometimes, cuddling and sugar-coating didn't work, especially not on guys like the masochist, I-don't-need-your-concern swordsman, and good teasing was all he needed to snap out of it. Sanji had long learnt the language of the moss-haired man, knowing he hated it when someone tip-toed around a subject and preferred straight-out honesty, even if it hurt. That was partly why Sanji and he always insulted each other. It was just their testosterone language.

Given all that, no fluffyness and all honesty, and keep in mind that Sanji was excellent in poking Zoro where it hurt, it was extremely funny to see the normally stoic and calm I-don't-even-_give_-a-fuck-mannered man so jumpy and anxious. Sanji's laugh died into a giggle. "If you're so damn tense about the illusions, shitty swordsman, you might want to scoot closer to that idiot of a captain. Apparently, he can erase the illusions like lead on paper. That Devil fruit sure can come in handy." Sanji lied down next to Nami, on his side. He could at least try to close his eyes, keep the shaking to a minimum, and enjoy the sight of a sleeping Nami. No reason for him to stay up, even of there was a partly-demented guy with a sword sleeping next to them. Deep, deep within Sanji's mind, he had an enormous amount of trust in Zoro, on the battlefield and out of it. Once they had finally gotten the thought into his green, fuzzy head that they weren't trying to brutally murder him when he turned his back, the thought wouldn't return so easily.

Zoro scowled at the cook. No matter how much it made sense, there would be a cold day in Hell before he took his advice. After another weird, howl-like noise, sounding both animalistic and human at the same time, Zoro reminded himself that his maybe-friends said this _was _Hell, and damn yes, it was cold.

When Sanji opened his eyes again in a few minutes, still shaking and craving a cigarette, Zoro was lying much closer to Luffy, snoring contently, katana sheathed, and Sanji made a memo to tease the swordsman about what he saw in the morning.

Hell or not, Zoro would get no mercy from him.

Luffy woke up further into the night, and he automatically knew why.

Whenever one of his crew wasn't feeling well, Luffy got that familiar tingle in the back of his mind. This time, it was a nightmare.

Everyone needed their own method to get rid of a nightmare. Chopper got nightmares sometimes, and when he woke up with tearful eyes, he needed someone to talk to him reassuringly and preferably pet his head. Luffy was always there for the job. In Usopp's case, he needed someone to talk to, to make him forget about whatever happened in the dream. After chatting about nothing in particular for maybe five minutes, he was sound asleep again. Sanji needed someone to tell "It's nothing, you idiot, go back to sleep." (unless it was a lady, of course, but that had yet to happen) and, oddly, sometimes had to check the storage room for supplies, as if he was afraid they'd just vanish into thin air. Nami needed someone to stay with her or hold her hand until she fell back asleep. Apparently, she hated being alone. Even Robin had a nightmare once, and once Luffy reached her bedside, he just smiled at her and, giving a calm smile of her own, she fell back into the dreamland. Whenever their own subconscious played tricks on them and scared them, Luffy was instantly there to chase the monsters away.

Luffy had nightmares too. Having been trough all he had, it was impossible not to. The worst was when he had just faced Crocodile and beaten him, once and for all. In his dreams, there was sand, sand and more sand, piling on top of him, crowding him, pulling him in, and no matter how much he stretched and thrashed around, he couldn't break loose. The sand suffocated him, dried him up, but he never died, but kept on feeling like his throat was on fire until sleep decided to relief him from it's horrors. Every time this happened, he only needed to look up, perhaps a little to his left, and he'd see a serious but very sleepy swordsman yawning and handing him a glass of water, which he gulped down like there was no tomorrow. The same swordsman would sit down next to his bed, letting Luffy talk the stress away if he wanted to, otherwise just sitting there in a comfortable silence until Luffy was out of this world again. In the morning, Zoro would always be back in his hammock, thankfully not mentioning last night's occurrence to anyone.

Now, Luffy wanted to do the same for him; to be there for _him_.

But Zoro was a difficult one. He had never needed any comforting in any way, since he was the only one never to feel homesick and hadn't left any kind of life behind when he joined Luffy. '_Always the strong, silent one'_, Luffy thought to himself.

As far as Luffy knew, and this time that was pretty damn far, the stoic green-haired man had never ad a nightmare. He slept all the time, and if you looked past the snoring, always peacefully. So what to do when Luffy woke up this night, only to see his first crewmate frowning deeply-well, even deeper than usual- in his sleep, curling in on himself, muttering something incoherent in his baritone voice? Luffy was a creature of instincts, so he went with what first came to his mind. Scooting over a bit, because Zoro was still in a safe distance although he had moved closer during the night, he reached out with his hand and, like an old lady petting her cat, raked his fingers trough the swordsman's green, fluffy hair. At first it seemed he would wake up, as his breathing caught, and Luffy dreaded what would happen if he did. Zoro did have a blown-out-of-proportion pride, after all, and would probably be embarrassed beyond himself if he woke up-to this. He didn't, however, but stilled again and slipped into a sound, and remarkably snoreless sleep. Luffy smiled to himself, thankful no one but himself had seen the episode. He made a mental green stick-it note and glued it next to the other ways of making bad dreams go away.

"Ne-hee, Zoro, your hair feels like a doggie."

_**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]]**_

On board the Merry, things were tense and heavy. Robin had failed to mention it to the white katana Zoro carried, which she suspected contained a powerful, friendly spirit, but time in Hell and with the still living was different. Calm, collected Robin had felt like an idiot, talking to a katana and showing it pictures and letters as if it were a child. She just hoped it was worth it. It had already been two days since they'd seen Luffy, Nami and Sanji disappear into the abyss. It wasn't as long where they were, but here amongst the not dead, it caused a lot of worry.

"Hey, Robin." Chopper approached her for the third time that day. Robin sighed inwardly, she knew well what was coming, but showed o signs of it on the outside and calmly closed her book. "What is it, doctor-san?" she asked the nervous, fidgeting doctor. "U-um, you know, it's been two days already, 'cause today is Sunday, and I-I was just, you know, wondering, if maybe, just in case anything happened, you know, uh…" Robin stayed silent, knowing the reindeer was having an inner struggle trying to find the right words. "Robin, do you suppose they're alright?" he finally spurted out, determinedly looking her in the blue, calm eyes. Robin sighed. She was known to be blunt and dance around dire matters like they were conversations about the weather, but she didn't want to do anything to worry the tiny Dr. Chopper. If there was a person with no soft spot for Chopper, she didn't want to know that surely cold-hearted person. So, despite what she really thought, she smiled reassuringly. "Not to worry, doctor-san, they're probably just taking their time. You know hoe swordsman-san can get lost? He's probably a hard one to find." Chopper forced a giggle. "Yeah, I guess so." Robin smiled indulgently, before snapping her head up when Usopp rushed in. "Guys, it's those marines, the smoke guy and that chick that's always with him and scares the crap out of Zoro, they're heading here, so they probably saw us and are going to fire anytime soon and Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Nami aren't here so what do we DO?" he shrieked, voice breaking at the end due to rising unnaturally high. Robin hurriedly put the book away and ran out, Chopper at her heels. Both of them only saw small specks near the horizon, but the sharpshooter's keen eye doubled with his goggles didn't allow them any doubt. "I believe, against all these marines, that our best bet is to make haste and sail away." Robin offered. Usopp and Chopper didn't bother to disagree, as the sound of a cannon blowing spread trough the sea, and a splash a few tens of feet away made them run for the sails and the hem. With only three people, it took a lot longer than normally. Chopper and Usopp moved the sails while Robin and her hands turned the ship while she studied a map from Nami for the safest route. The area had a strong current and jagged reefs, highly capable of tearing the ship's hull trough.

Because they were under-manned, the marines quickly caught up with them. Soon the cannonball shots were reaching closer and closer to their target, sending a splash over the deck. _'This isn't good.' _Robin thought. _'If anything happens, if even one of us is hurt, we'll barely stand a chance. I can only hope the sea is merciful today…'_

Panicking, Chopper rushed around, trying his best to aid them in any way. Usopp was manning the cannons, sending expertise shots to the enemy ships. Robin was steering and looking at the map at the same time, brow furrowed in concentration. How she could keep herself from hysteria at a time like this, Chopper didn't know. Although, Usopp was being quiet too, carefully aiming and shooting at whatever came in range. _'When people do what they're good a, they show a new side to themselves. Even I get serious when tending to a patient.'_ Chopper thought amazed. The thought and feeling of pride was crushed before his eyes, however, when a well-aimed cannonball came hurling towards them. With no Luffy to bounce it back, no Sanji to kick it away and no Zoro to slice it apart, nothing was in the ball's way as it flew at literally break-neck speed, right towards Usopp.

"Longnose-kun!"

"Usopp!"

_**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**_

A sudden rumble jerked all of the Hell-bound Straw hats from their sleep. Zoro grabbed and unsheathed his katana right away, eyes flickering in all directions. Sanji sprung up too, crouching low like a cat ready to strike. Nami's first instinct was to curl up and shield her head, probably forgetting she was in Hell and thinking it was an earthquake or a typhoon. Luffy sat up, stretching, with a dopey expression. "Huh? Wuzzat? 'S'nuther Se'kin? 'Ll kick's asszz…" Nami pinched Luffy's nose without taking her eyes off her surroundings. "No, you idiot, something bad's about to go down!" She could feel it in her bones. Even if she didn't have killer instincts like Luffy, or could sense auras or whatever like Zoro, she could practically feel the vibe of murderous intent and dark around her. Luffy seemed to feel it too, once he'd shaken off the daze of sleep, and he put on a fighting stance like the rest of them, which in Luffy's case was simply standing there, eyes dim with seriousness, fists balled. For a long while, all they could ear was each other's pants. Come to think of it, they couldn't hear the water gurgling or the breeze moving the branches, either. It was quiet, deadly so. And, all of a sudden, cold. So could their breaths were like miniature clouds, forming from their clattering teeth. "Guys? What is this?" Nami whimpered at no one in particular, as long as that someone would have an answer. "I don't know, Nami-swan. It can't be good, whatever it is." Nami looked at Zoro, who answered without looking at her. "Something's coming." Nami froze. That couldn't mean anything good. Nothing not-deadly could come from this place, it seemed.

"You people irritate me to no end, you know that?" the voice they had come to know so well rose from the crispy cold of the landscape. Zoro looked around frantically, but couldn't find the source of sound. It was like it came from the air itself; from all around them. He remembered the voice vaguely; not enough to mold the face in his mind, but enough to send shiver trough hi entire being. The trees suddenly started jerking about, twitching and shuddering like they were being seized by some giant, invisible force. Branches snapped and flew in any direction, roots were torn from the ground as the trees were moved in their resting place. "Holy shit!" Sanji screamed, completely forgetting he was in the presence of a lady. The ground shook, just slightly but enough to knock them off their feet. Landing in an undignified way on his backside, Luffy glanced around, trying to find whoever-or whatever- was doing this. Judging by the voice earlier, there was no doubt the Devil was back on the scene. And this time, he wasn't just scaring them or taunting them. It seemed he intended to do harm to them in any way possible, even if it meant crushing the earth under their feet. _'Or,' _Luffy thought on a whim, _'by…killing the only person who can be hurt, and our only chance of escaping…' _Even if it meant killing his new toy.

Shit.

"Zoro!"

_**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]] **_

**Two cliffhangers? Oh wow. **

**Short chappie! Like I said, I've just felt uninspired for this recently. **_**I will finish it**_**, though, if it means the death of me. **

**My other in-between story, Reunion, had the most frequent review alerts of any of my stories O.o it was awesome. Iloveallofyouguys!**

"_Oi, stupid. Why won't you just get some sleep? No one's going to molest you or anything."_

**Sure, that what they all say.**

_You say anything I see could be my imagination, right? Then how do I know if you guys are real? Maybe you're not even here, an I'm just sitting in some god-forsaken alley talking to myself! Maybe you're just illusions and someone's messing with my mind! _

**Get this; maybe everything you see is your imagination. Maybe nothing is even real. You're just sitting in a mental hospital, rambling something to a nurse. You can never know. **

**There. Mind fucked.**

_making Sanji slightly jump and Zoro have a freak spasm._

**I get that every time something startles me.**

there would be a cold day in Hell before he took his advice.

**There are so many chances of puns in this story I can barely even keep up.**

"_Ne-hee, Zoro, your hair feels like a doggie."_

**I think Zoro's hair feels like a Border-Collie dog, shaved a bit shorter that normal. **

"_Huh? Wuzzat? 'S'nuther Se'kin? 'Ll kick's asszz…" _

**Translation: Huh? What's that? Is it another sea king? I'll kick his ass…**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry I'm late with this, people, but I have an excuse. I have been going trough hell recently (lol, pun), the Hell called….**

…_**FINALS**_**.**

**I've been studying my ass off, and I'm going to study more once I'm done putting this up. But only two more weeks, and it's FLIPPIN' SUMMER VACATION!**

**And only one week 'til my birthday! Guess how old I am?**

**Warnings: **Some mildly disturbing violence and gore, and some fluffyness as well to balance things out.

**Disclaimer: **I'm not even going to….

**Shrinkhead13: **Yupyup ^ ^ Zoro knows best.

**Yuukiwhitewolf**: I try to update quickly, I really do! Hope you didn't get bored waiting C: Yes, it is basically the same joke. I didn't know Hell really existed… must be a fun place to live in xD

**Fmdevil: **Yeah, good thing he was asleep…

**Red Voident Dragon**: I know, I'm evil incarnated. :D You'll have to wait and see about that cannon… and that brain-and-instinct-clash sounds so familiar it's funny. It's basically how I react to anything unsettling.

**Chaosgenes: **I would have added Franky, but truth is I haven't even watched as far as Robin's recruiting, so I wouldn't know how to act Franky. I haven't seen that opening (I think) so I really didn't know. I wish I'd known sooner xD Don't worry about that book, I'm sure I'll read it someday… I read everything.

**Cb O chan: **And here I was thinking I was a slow updater :P Yes, if he killed Zoro, he'd own his soul. I meant for the Devil to be creepy, but I actually like him D: how?

_**[[[ONE WAY TICKET TO HELL]]]]**_

Zoro registered Luffy calling his name, but all chances of shouting a reply were nullified as Nami tugged on his _haramaki_, making him splat face-first on the ground next to her. "What the fuck, woman?" He yelled at her after spitting out some grass and mold. _'Don't tell me they've gone hostile again...' _the thought flashed trough Zoro's head for a brief second, but was gone as he looked back and saw a root embed in the tree right where he had been standing. The root would have impaled him if Nami hadn't brought him down, and he'd been impaled plenty enough to last him the year.

Sanji absentmindedly kicked him in the head for yelling at Nami-swaaaan, but was rather busy watching what was happening. Not even Nami started threatening to raise Zoro's debt for saving his ass, as she too was staring at the unwinding events.

The Devil was standing in the midst of the ruckus, floating in thin air with the ground below him melting and bubbling like lava. The air around him swiveled and blurred like he was emitting his own heat, and that's probably exactly what he was doing.

The Devil was no longer a British gentleman, as he had unconsciously changed his looks to match his mood. He was much taller and bulkier, but his skin was like charcoal and his eyes were literally burning, flaming with the whitest fire. His feet were like bird's claws, and his hands had three fingers, each with a long, scythe-like claw protruding from the tip. He had wings, though they weren't so much wings as they were bones of wings with a touch of rotten flesh on them. The stench of brimstone, blood, death and despair came from him in waves, making all of them gag.

He was much more like the devil they'd imagined, save from the goat-legs.

"**I don't believe my own eyes." **The voice was rougher than before, with a sharp, burning edge to it that could almost cut you if you just listened well enough. Shivers went trough every nerve of the Straw Hats.

"**Were this not Hell, my kingdom, I'd think I was dreaming. Too bad I don't dream, I only give others nightmares." **All of a sudden, cracks sprouted from the ground, separating each person from the others. Sanji managed a leap onto Nami's plate, while Luffy catapulted towards Zoro.

Zoro was in most danger of them all, as he could literally be harmed and killed. Sanji and Nami could feel pain and see things, but as long as they kept their cool, nothing would really harm them. Luffy was completely safe, and since he could protect others, he'd have to stay close to them. Even if he was mortal in this place, he'd have protected them anyway, and lay his life down if it meant saving them.

He grabbed Zoro by the shoulder and prepared to launch onto Nami and Sanji's plate, but a sudden quake of the earth and Nami and Sanji were trapped in a cave of sorts. Luffy growled an turned towards the Devil, who was still floating, unfazed by any of the rapid changes going on in the landscape.

"**Let's not allow them to disturb our little game, huh, Monkey-kun?" **Luffy bared his teeth at the nickname.

"**Don't worry, I'll take care of them when I'm done with you. You can be sure of that." **The Devil grinned, teeth yellow and rock-like but sharp nonetheless. **"You see, Monkey-kun, Roronoa Zoro, I hate you both. I was fully prepared to let you and the other kids go, Mr. Captain, as long as I could torture little Roronoa Zoro for a while. But no, you just had to go and make me angry."** The Devil's tone of voice stayed the same, but the last few words held more rage to them, making the entire world shake.

The Devil frowned, but grinned all the while. **"Now, I'm going to make your worst nightmares come true." **

Luffy scoffed, untouched by the pure fury in the Devil's words. "You can't hurt me. I have the Devil fruit ability; you're no more powerful than any other person to me."

The Devil laughed, a laughter that sounded like a million screams, and glared at Luffy with fiery eyes. "Who said I was going to hurt _you_?"

Dread locked it's claws around Luffy's heart in an instant, wiping the confidence away from his face like a drop of sweat. A huge wall of glass formed around him, trapping him inside like the ground had trapped Nami and Sanji. He banged on the glass as hard as he could, but the only results were a faint static tune from the echo. The glass was just as hard as the thickest, firmest rock, only he could see everything that was going on.

He almost wished he didn't see.

Zoro looked around, once or twice looking in Luffy's direction, but never seeing him. Luffy decided he was invisible, probably one of Devil's tricks. He heard Zoro curse the Devil and ask where he had taken Luffy, although Luffy was standing right there.

"Zoro! Zoro! I'm! Right! _Here_, damn it!"

Luffy pounded the glass more, but no avail. He stopped trying to make Zoro notice him and tried a _Gomu Gomu no _Pistol, but found there wasn't enough room for his hand to sway back in. There wasn't enough room for any of his attacks. All of them required a lot of stretching, and he could only raise his hand like a non-rubber person could before it his a wall. Luffy momentarily stopped trying to break out to see what was going on on the outside.

Something was wrong with Zoro.

He shook his head once, two times, three times, before grabbing the sides of his head like he was trying to keep it fastened on his neck. His eyes were wide in disbelief, although they didn't seem to be focusing on anything in particular. He didn't even seem to see the Devil hovering a few feet above and away from him, or Luffy's yelling. He started murmuring something to himself, quickly and without taking a breath, like a mantra he couldn't finish.

"Voices in your head, Roronoa Zoro?" The Devil cackled.

Zoro didn't hear him, instead squeezing his eyes shut and whispering even faster. He tumbled and almost lost balance, but his elbow stroked against the white hilt of his katana. That seemed to snap Zoro out of his state of madness, and he gripped the sword tightly, standing straighter. Although his breathing was still uneven, Zoro seemed to have calmed some. _'Phew.' _Luffy thought. _'He's okay. Of course he is, he's strong.' _But on closer inspection, Luffy was proven wrong. Zoro was frozen in place again, though he was now coughing and holding his chest. He grimaced in pain, before resuming coughing. Luffy snapped his head at the Devil. "Are you doing this?" he tried yelling, but the sound was muffled from the glass. The Devil's voice resounded in his mind, like he was standing right besides him. **"Of course. Want to see more?"**

Luffy wanted to scream at him to stop, and tell Zoro to run, escape, he wanted everything to just end; but he was powerless.

He could only stare in horror as Zoro suddenly clamped a hand over his mouth, then the other hand, like his tongue was threatening to crawl out. Blood started oozing from his nose, and ears, and eyes. It dripped down like red rain, staining his already dirty beyond recognition clothes and dying the grass.

He collapsed to four legs, and letting go of his mouth to brace himself for the fall, the blood he had tried to keep inside flowed forth. It wasn't just a few droplets either, it was a flood, a continuous stream that just didn't stop. This much blood shouldn't be inside a person, but it was coming in ounces from Zoro. He was shaking like a leaf in autumn wind, choking on the nonstop flow of blood from everywhere.

Luffy had tears in his eyes. Why couldn't he stop this? Why couldn't he protect his crew, like a captain was supposed to? Why didn't this Devil, this creature, stop tormenting them?

The Devil lazily raised a hand and, from nothing but thin air, appeared a spear, floating in front of his palm. With a flick of his writs, the spear turned and shot straight towards Zoro, who was still on the ground, spewing up fountains of blood.

Luffy saw it in slow motion.

The pain and fear on Zoro's face, so vividly clear, and the glint of the spear's tip flying at Zoro´s head in a straight line, like a pouncing carnivore.

'_No, no, no no __**NO**__!'_

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

A miracle in Hell is an ironic thought, but that was still what occurred seconds before the death of the green-haired man.

To say Zoro had blocked the spear at the last second would be incorrect. It was more like the sword itself decided to protect it's master as it swung in front of the spear, Zoro's arm following suit, and deflecting it away from the man. Zoro was just as shocked at this as the Devil was, staring at the sword like it was an alien. The Devil was so off-balance by this he forgot to focus, thus the never ending stream of blood finally stopped.

Anyone who would have seen this would have said it was a miracle, but Luffy knew better. No one saw it but him, but he could see it as clearly as he saw the surprise on the other men's faces. A petite but strong-willed girl had seized the sword, clasping her small hand around Zoro's own, and swung it up to protect him. After saving his life, she disappeared again, after all, seeing his dead friend-rival wouldn't help Zoro's mental state right now. Luffy mate a note to thank Kuina, but remembered she was probably doing it just as much for herself.

"**ENOUGH!" **The Devil roared, shaking the entire universe with his rage**. "Do you want to see him suffer, Monkey D. Luffy? I was going to end it swift and painless, but I'll give you pain if that's what you want!"**

A corpse appeared in front of Zoro. Sickly gray and lifeless, it looked more like a dead toad or a mass of slime. The mass took the appearance of a woman, who was definitely beautiful in her living life, but was more hideous now than anything Luffy had ever seen.

And very much alive.

She crawled towards Zoro on four legs, pleading, accusing, cursing, spitting, edging towards him like a snake in it's last moments. Zoro backed away, or tried to, it was hard to move when you were paralyzed with fear.

"My son… my son… help me… help your mommy… don't let me die like this… Zoro, honey…" The woman cried with her ragged voice. Zoro scuttled further away, panting like he had run a marathon. The woman's face deformed in rage, and she crawled faster, clawing her way towards her son.

"How dare you? Filthy son of a scum, you're nothing good! Couldn't even save your own mother, after everything she did for you! All you ever did was cry like a baby, while I lay on my deathbed! Pathetic! You're no son of mine!"

She screeched at him, stunning Zoro with fear. "M-mom, I'm sorry, I tried, I really did, I jus couldn't-" The woman cut him off.

"Murderer, you are! Foul, despicable rat!"

She lunged at him, baring her teeth like a banshee and screaming bloody murder like one, too. Zoro panicked and closed his eyes, thrusting his sword out to defend himself. It hit the woman square in the chest.

When Zoro opened his eyes again, it was because of a gentle hand stroking his cheek. Face blank with surprise and shock and fear and an overload of feelings, he looked at the zombie woman again, who was no longer anything like a zombie. Instead, there was a lovely plump woman in her thirties, with wavy brown hair and golden brown eyes, just like Zoro's. She was crying, but didn't seem sad, just disappointed and confused. "Why…? Zoro, honey, why did you stab mommy? Don't you love me?" Zoro looked from the woman's face to his sword, buried in his mother's chest, then back at the woman, then back at the sword again. His mouth formed the words _'no' _over and over again, but no sound came out. The woman's eyes were clouded over by her death.

Zoro dropped the sword like he had burnt himself, looking at his blood-coated hands with fear and disgust. The woman fell on her face, but her back stayed bent upwards from the sword still lodged in her chest. Small fragments of bone protruded from her back where the ribs had been broken in two.

"You're useless, Zoro."

Kuina's voice came from behind Zoro.

She was just like he remembered her, except for one noticeable thing; her neck was bent in an odd way, with splinters of bone and a few veins sticking out here and there. Her arm was also bent in all the wrong ways, the elbow swayed outwards and the wrist was bent 50 degrees. Luffy was disturbed by how much she was like the Kuina he'd come to know, but something was just off…it was just an illusion.

"You can't do anything. You couldn't save her, you couldn't save me, you couldn't beat Mihawk… and you think you'll be the world's best swordsman?"

She leaned forwards without even bending her knees, "What can you achieve when you can't save a single person?"

She gestured behind her where, much to Luffy's horror, all of their friends were in a heap. Chopper had a hole, a _hole_, in his stomach, where one could clearly see what was left of his liver and spine.

Usopp was lying unusually straight with his face down; that was because he had no nose to prevent his face from being buried in the mud.

Robin's hands were missing, and her eyes were vanished too, leaving only empty and bloody sockets.

Sanji was lying protectively over a mass of orange hair that must have belonged to Nami, though now it was stained a deep read. Sanji's legs had been sliced and diced until you could see the bones and sinews.

Zoro stared at the sight in disbelief. Kuina kept talking mindlessly.

"All of them are dead, all because of you. Why didn't you protect them, Zoro? Don't you care? Are you really the Demon everyone made you for?"

Zoro was quivering, shivering like he was on ice. He drew his legs closer, curling into himself and breathing hard, hyperventilating.

Luffy shouldn't have heard it, Zoro was too far away and Luffy was in a flipping glass cage, but he still heard it, just like he had heard Vivi over the cries of battle back in Arabasta, when no one else heard her pleas of peace.

"I'm sorry, sorry, just stop, just go away, I want to wake up, just go away, don't do this, I don't-"

Luffy felt like his stomach had just turned to rock, hearing his best friend's quiet, frightened whispers. He'd do anything, anything to make Zoro stop suffering like that.

The Devil laughed maniacally. **"It's snapping! I can feel it, his mind's breaking! What do you think, Straw Hat? You're friend's on the brink of insanity!" **

Soon he'd be nothing but an empty shell, a ghost of the great man he was.

…no. No, Luffy wouldn't let that happen. Going to the Grand Line, becoming the Pirate King, _living _without even one of his cremates was simply not an option. He'd done things that should have been impossible, he'd beat people much stronger than him, he'd saved an entire country.

He was going to save his friend.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

Zoro felt like his brain was going into overdrive. It was just so wrong, everything was so wrong in every way. All he could register at the moment was the immense, incredible, intolerable amount of shame and fear in his chest. He vaguely heard Kuina talking, poking fun of him, ridiculing him, and he smelled his mother's blood on his hands, and he could hear his crewmate's dead moans, but he couldn't concentrate on any one thing.

He just wanted it to stop, stop, stop, STOP, _STOP_, **STOP**, _**STOP**_-

-and it stopped.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

The Devil cackled on, absolutely hysteric over how well his intentions worked. The proud, strong, and willed man who had escaped Hell's clutches one too many times, Roronoa Zoro, was broken. As soon as his last piece of sanity left him, the Devil would harvest his soul and move on with his duties. Zoro's soul would make a nice addition to his already large collection of special souls.

However, that last piece of sanity never left the man. The Devil looked up in annoyance, wondering just what could have stalled his plans. Stalled, not ruined.

Although he didn't want to, he'd just snap his fingers and Roronoa Zoro would be dead. It wouldn't be as much fun, but the Devil really couldn't wait any longer for the man to die.

What he saw made his annoyance turn to white-hot rage.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

Luffy hurried over to Zoro. As fast as he could, faster than he could. After much pondering about what he could do to escape his glass prison, Luffy remembered something Nami had told him earlier.

_Luffy had just had a drink and was sucking the air out of the glass, making it stick to his face. "Snn! Snn, Lh!" He tried to show Sanji his remarkable discovery, certain he'd just gotten a new stick-to-face superpower, but as soon as he breathed out, the glass fell and smashed against the wood. After receiving a good, healthy kicking from Sanji, Nami explained why the glass stuck and how it wasn't a superpower._

So, Luffy just sucked in air, more and more, until either he was so big from inflating that the glass smashed, or the glass collapsed into itself from the pressure. Sure, it rained glass on him, but it couldn't hurt him, nothing could.

So as soon as he was out, he ran over to the heap on the ground that was Zoro.

As beforesaid, Luffy was a creature of instincts. It wasn't a very developed way of living, but it almost always ended as the right decision. And now, his instincts told him that Zoro needed an anchor to reality, a rock to hold onto. For once, he had to rely on someone else. He needed something to kick him out of the whirlpool his mind was becoming, sucking away Zoro's sanity, some jolt to make him stop thinking about what he thought was real. And a jolt, Luffy gave him.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

Zoro didn't feel, he didn't feel anymore. He didn't think, couldn't think straight, he didn't understand, he didn't feel.

But all of a sudden, he did.

He felt a weight on his shoulders, a comfortable, warm, reassuring weight that whispered that everything was okay, that he could open his eyes now, the bad things were gone. Now that Zoro thought about it

_-'thought? I can think. Can I think? I think so. I think I think.' _-

he couldn't hear Kuina's voice or the groans of death from his friends anymore. And he didn't smell the blood on his hands… Zoro opened his eyes…

Because there _was _no blood on his hands.

The world came into focus, even clearer than before. He saw everything in sharp vividness, the details so clear they stung his eyes. But it's what he didn't see that made him start breathing normally again. There were no corpses. No dead mother, no dead crewmates, no blood on the grass. It was all gone. Zoro didn't know whether to be scared or relieved or just disturbed. He wanted it to go away, but an enemy was more dangerous when you couldn't see him. Finally, he settled for relieved awareness.

His eyes focused on a blur of skin near his face. Pale, soft skin, not his own tanned roughened one.

And he heard that voice that had jostled him out of his mind, that encouraged him to open his eyes again. It was the same voice that commanded him to be his very first crewmate (a privilege Zoro was still proud of), and the one that comically screamed at Zoro to help him when a bird caught him, and told Zoro to run while meaning something entirely different, and told him to rest after his injuries, and the voice that made him laugh heartily for the first time in years, and the voice that had always been there since the day his life started again.

It was Luffy who was latched onto Zoro's back, hugging him like an overgrown bear but still hugging him with care, telling him it was okay. Those… things, those twisted and disgusting and wrong things weren't there anymore, and it was thanks to Luffy. He knew.

"Zoro, it's okay. They're not real, Zoro, they're just illusions. And I know it hurts, it hurt me too, but you're strong so it's okay. It's okay, Zoro. Everything's okay." And Zoro took a deep breath he didn't know his lungs had been screaming for, and said with a hoarse and raw but completely trusting voice,

"I know it is."

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]] **

**Wow, that ending even had me cringing. He feel like such a sap xP It's coming to an end! Only one or two more chapters! **

_'Don't tell me they've gone hostile again...' _

**Zoro still doesn't trust them completely.**

_Luffy had just had a drink and was sucking the air out of the glass, making it stick to his face. "Snn! Snn, Lh!" He tried to show Sanji his remarkable discovery, certain he'd just gotten a new stick-to-face superpower, but as soon as he breathed out, the glass fell and smashed against the wood. After receiving a good, healthy kicking from Sanji, Nami explained why the glass stuck and how it wasn't a superpower._

**I'm aware this probably isn't possible, but it was all I could think of. Besides, this is One Piece. ANYTHING'S possible! :D**

_-'thought? I can think. Can I think? I think so. I think I think.' _

**These are the ramblings of an insane man. That's why they're so… weird.**


	14. One way ticket to Hell, and back!

**Hey all! I was going to make an epic fighting scene between Luffy and the Devil, but I suck hard at epic fighting scenes. I'm sorry!**

**So I'm on summer vacation now, so more time to write. Also, I just turned 15! Woohoo! I also started reading Shaman King, and I can't believe how similar it is to One Piece. Did Eichiiro Oda have something to do with Shaman King?**

**cy-grl: **Thanks :]

**Sarani Sayonara: **And moar you shall have :D I don't even try with the fluff, it just comes out instantly.

**fmdevil: **Heehee, I'm flattered you think I have adult writing style. But you're not so far off :D

**BrindyB: **Eh, don't sweat it. I know, the Devil is a bad person, but what did you expect...? A saint? God, I'm a little embarrassed about the fluff I seem to accidentally fill this story with...

**Finnjavel**: First of all; Thank YOU so much! Your review actually made me squeak and giggle out loud 3 I happened to join for the same reason as you, 'cause I loved someone's story so much.. so I'm really flattered you have the same case. So, I'm going to try extra hard to make the end a good one :D and you're Fjandi welcome!

**Shrinkhead13: **I know, I'm a sick, twisted person. xD I think Zoro has these golden-brown eyes, I dunno**, **I just always pictured him that way. As for his mom, I'm influenced by something I saw on DeviantArt.

**Yuu13: **I know, Luffy makes everything better. I didn't want to spend much time writing his childhood (mostly because I already did that, in another story.)

**Chaosgenes: **Yeah, I kind of went full-out crazy there, didn't I? xP As I've said, I'm a sick person.

* * *

_**[[[ONE WAY TICKET TO HELL]]]**_

Luffy was slightly worried. Zoro looked like he was about to go into a mixture of seizures and fainting, but thankfully he sat up straight. Luffy knew asking about everything he had seen would have to await a better time, if he would even ask at all. Maybe this was one of those things that should be left buried, like so many other things regarding all of his comrade's pasts.

Luffy knew Zoro had gone trough some tragedies, and apparently more than he thought, considering what Luffy had just witnessed. Sanji had suffered some food-related trauma, which was quite possibly what influenced him to be a cook. Luffy knew better than to ask. He didn't know Nami's past, since he didn't have any interest in what she had done wrong or right, but it had something to do with Arlong and a long span of suffering and being misjudged. Usopp had been more than willing to tell Luffy about his own childhood, though it wasn't done in his normal, boisterous way. There was no bragging or fibbing, only a sad smile now and then. He knew about Chopper's excruciation and what verged on racism, which was why Luffy was all the more intent on protecting Chopper against anything like that.

His friend's pasts didn't matter, unless they were harming them in some way. But all of them ditched their old ways of life when they joined Luffy, and he was glad they did. It made him feel… helpful. Like he had actually helped them get over their demons, given them a little push in the right direction and they'd kept walking the rest of the way by themselves. And, to Luffy's utter and complete joy, decided to walk alongside him.

Was he going to let some Devil-bastard tell him who he could and couldn't have? Don't think so.

Was he going to let that guy get in the way of their dreams? HELL no!

What was he going to do about it?

Everything he could.

"Zoro." Luffy addressed his swordsman, keeping his hand on his back but glaring at the Devil, who was hovering nearby, seemingly exploding with rage.

"Go help Nami and Sanji. You need to find the exit; Nami can tell you more." Luffy started walking forwards, eyes on the man he was going to use his every ounce of strength to defeat.

"This guy is mine."

Zoro looked up, just now noticing the Devil again.

"You-That's the guy that's been messing with my head?" He grabbed his sword, that was lying on the ground and was NOT in a pool of blood from someone Zoro DIDN'T kill, and stood up, fixing his infamous death glare on the devil.

"Zoro, no. You're definitely not in the shape to fight this bastard," that was confirmed when Zoro swayed a bit in his tracks, "plus he could make you see things again. I'm the only one that can fight him. And, besides, Sanji needs your help ~ "

Luffy finished in a sing-song voice. That was of course what reached Zoro, since he was long started to ignore all the you're-not-in-good-enough-condition from Chopper. But, the chance to help Sanji from distress meant Sanji owed him something. And that's a chance Zoro would never turn down. Zoro nodded and turned to dash towards the half rock-half cave Nami and Sanji were trapped in. Before the first step, he turned back to Luffy. "I'm not asking you to be careful, Luffy, I'm ordering you to be. I know crewmates don't order their captain around, but-"

"But friends can order friends around." Luffy finished for him. Zoro didn't quite have the energy or the mood to smile, not just yet, but he nodded to Luffy again and took off. Luffy smiled at his retreating friend's back before turning to the Devil again.

"You are fucked, Mr. Devil." The Devil laughed, and gathered some sort of fire on the tips of his fingers.

"Very well, since you seem to make everyone bounce back form the illusions I throw at them, I'll just have to destroy you. Then, I'll move to your friends. Too bad you won't be able to watch them writhe in pain, but hey, you can't win 'em all."

But Luffy already had watched his friends suffer from the Devil's tricks, and he had had just about enough of it.

This would stop right here, right now.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

Sanji immediately covered Nami when the rocks seem to just spring up around them. He couldn't see just what was going on trough the upset dust and grime, and he didn't bother to stand up and try to make something out. His priority was Nami and Nami alone. If they weren't careful, some of those rocks might fall on them, and though they wouldn't be physically hurt they would be in pain, and he would let no harm come to his Nami.

The ginger girl buried her face in Sanji's chest, afraid of what she might see if she opened her eyes. Everything was so loud, and the earth was shaking again. She'd really had enough of this; she wanted to go home…

When both of the couple dared open their eyes, they needn't bother. It was pitch black. Sanji's first instinct was feeling his eyes to see if they weren't definitely open, like they might have stuck.

Nami thought she'd gone blind and panicked slightly, before seeing the very faint silhouette of Sanji trough the tiny, tiny hole in the ceiling. He was still holding her, but without being too whooed. Nami figured he was probably scanning this small cave they were in, like her.

When Sanji, however, started breathing irregularly, Nami had to reconsider that thought.

"Sanji-kun? What's wrong?"

Sanji breathed for a moment before answering in a shaky, unsteady voice that said the contrary to his words "Nothing's wrong, Nami-san, don't worry your beautiful head about it."

Nami frowned. His compliment wasn't followed with him trying to touch her boobs or something. "Sanji-kun, what-" then it dawned on her. Nami was a smart girl after all, maybe not as smart as Robin who could have figured Sanji's situation out in less than a minute, but smart nonetheless.

"Sanji-kun, don't tell me you're claustrophobic?" A small hitch in Sanji's breath was all Nami needed for confirmation. "Oh no. Sanji, what do I do? Isn't there something you're supposed to do in a situation like this?" Sanji didn't answer at first, and Nami had to wonder if he was getting enough oxygen, hyperventilating like that. "It's not that much… being in a small space, it's just… I'll be fine, really…" Nami huffed. _Men_. Why could they never admit their weaknesses? Well, Luffy did, sometimes way to easily, like when he politely informed his enemies that he was helpless in water. Usopp did too, because he, like Nami, was aware of them and wanted to best them. Okay, so Chopper did too… that left Zoro and Sanji. Damn testosterone-fueled apes.

They distinctively heard Luffy shouting something, although they couldn't hear words it sounded suspiciously much like "Zoro".

Sanji curled into a ball when the earth shuddered a little. When he was in good mental state, he would never let his Nami see him do something this… weak, this shameful. But at the moment, nothing mattered more to him than getting out of this place, into an open space, and not be stuck here in this godforsaken little cave when just anything could be happening on the outside and he was powerless to help and the walls were coming closer…

They heard a roaring, intimidating voice, bellowing something they couldn't decipher. But no doubt it was something that didn't bode well. It was followed by some shouting from Luffy.

Sanji suddenly felt slim, elegant hand wrap themselves around his, stroking them gently. "Sanji, we're on the Going Merry." he heard Nami say in a stronger tone than she'd used for a while.

"What? Nami-san, we-"

"No, Sanji, listen. Close your eyes for me, okay?"

Not one to go against a maiden's wishes no matter how much he was freaking out, Sanij did as she said. "Now don't open them until I say so, okay?"

Sanji nodded, though he wasn't sure if she could see that in this dark. She must have, because she kept talking in a not slightly unwavering voice.

"We're on the Going Merry. We just ate a delicious course you made, so you don't have to worry about cooking for a while. Everyone's full, even Luffy."

Outside the cave, they heard Zoro say something, very quietly. But it sounded scared.

"Zoro's trying to argue with Chopper about whether he has to stay in the med bay or not, 'cause the damn idiot managed to scald himself on one of the pots in the kitchen. And Chopper's being a doctor, thinking he'll die if he doesn't get some rest. You know how Chopper gets, he just wants to help."

A loud crash was heard from the outside, like someone had taken a gigantic dinnerplate and smashed it. "Usopp just managed to blow something up as usual, I'm going to yell at him afterwards. He needs to learn how to keep those explosions under wraps. Remember when he made that smoke bomb that went crazy? You kicked him so hard."

Nami giggled a little for effect, and Sanji seemed to be relaxing too. At least he wasn't breathing as raggedly_. 'It's working!' _Nami thought. Distracting him by making him feel like he was back on the Merry. She kept stroking the back of his hand with her thumb, like Bellemére would sometimes do when she held Nami's hand when they went to the market and Nami was scared of all the bustling. A continuous, gentle motion.

That was rudely interrupted when a very loud crack suddenly shook the cave.

"What?" Nami couldn't help but yelp, and thereby her illusion bubble with Sanji was busted, and he snapped his eyes open as well.

They both thought, maybe, the Devil was going to finish them off for good. Maybe the world was even collapsing.

What they didn't expect was Zoro, standing outside of a considerably large crack he had made in the wall, looking like he had been chewed, swallowed, and thrown up again. He was breathing heavily, holding his sword in one hand.

"Sorry to interrupt your tea time, ladies, but we gotta move out."

With that, he was running off again, barely giving Nami and Sanji enough time to squeeze out of the crack and follow him.

-"-

They were running off somewhere, where exactly no one seemed to know.

"Marimo? What the fuck's going on, where are we going?" Sanji had recovered his sharp tongue and didn't hesitate to use it on his favorite subject. "One at a time, dart brow. What's going on is we're getting the fuck out of here, one way or another, and we're going away from here." They were inside a leafy forest now, a very peaceful-looking one, too. That wasn't saying it was safe.

"What about that Devil guy? Wasn't he after you?"

"And where's Luffy? We need him to tune out the illusions!" Nami asked, a little out of breath. Zoro hesitated, but answered without turning to them, "Luffy's dealing with the Devil. He'll catch up once he's done kicking his ass, now let's move. Nami, Luffy said I should ask you if I was confused about something and I'm confused as fuck right now. Where is this gateway to the other side and how do we get trough?" Nami frowned upon Zoro's answer to Luffy's whereabouts, but said nothing. Instead, she answered him the best she could.

"If anyone knows, you do. It should be something that means a lot to you, like… the door to your childhood home or something." Zoro snorted without smiling. "Don't think that's it, but I get your point. This'll be harder than I thought…"

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]] **

Luffy cracked his knuckles, something he did more out of a habit than anything else. He was made of rubber, why would he need to crack anything?

…Besides the Devil's skull, if he had one.

The Devil looked down at him, unfazed and not in the least amused. Crossing his arms, he levitated down to Luffy's level until he was hovering just barely above the ground. "You intend to defeat me in battle? My illusions may not work on you, but I am the Devil, remember?" Luffy snorted.

"So? I'd defeat God if I had to, now let's get started. I don't have time to waste."

Without warning, the Devil disappeared and reappeared right behind Luffy, breathing seething hot air in his ear. "And just where are you looking, Monkey-kun?"

Before murderously sharp claws could be brought down on him, Luffy darted out of the way. He wasn't quick enough, however, as the devil's knee came straight in his direction. Luffy braced himself for the impact, but it never came.

A few centimeters away from his stomach, the Devil's knee was resting, with sharp edges sticking from the cap just waiting to tear into Luffy's flesh. But they never got the chance to, because some invisible force, like a shield made from air, was stopping the Devil. The Devil frowned and tried again, only to be stopped all over again. Luffy grinned.

"I ate a Devil fruit, remember? You can't hurt me."

The Devil looked as if he would burst any second, like an enormous, black and rocky balloon, but he regained his composure quickly enough. "Maybe not, Monkey D. Luffy, but I still have the upper hand." Withdrawing, the Devil made the earth move again, this time downward. Rocks and patches of ground rained upon Luffy, and he would have been buried under had he not gomu-gomu-no-rocketed himself out of the hole. What met him on the surface was no better than what was under it. No matter what he did, dirt and grass tried to envelope themselves around him, trapping him in. They succeeded a couple of times, but not for long enough. In the end, he always managed to break free just before he disappeared under the surface of the ground. _'This is bad'_, Luffy thought. _'He really does have the upper hand. If I don't find a way to beat him soon…' _

The Devil laughed. "At the very least, Monkey D. Luffy, I'll keep you here for all eternity. I wonder how your crewmates will do without their captain, hmm?"

So that was his plan.

Luffy paused momentarily to think things over and catch his breath, but he had better not.

This time, the water seemed to rise from the plants, ground, and air itself, and wrap itself around Luffy, trapping him effectively.

He struggled to get free, but like in all other worlds, hell included, he was powerless in water. He struggled to breathe inside this reverse bubble, powerless to do anything.

'_Is this really it?' _he thought without realizing it. A smirk from the Devil proved he had thought it, and it had been heard. "I'm going to catch up to your very much so vulnerable teammates now, if you don't mind. Chao." The Devil started disappearing into smoke. _'No! This can't be it, I can't die here! He'll get Snaji, Nami and Zoro! I gotta get out!_

_THIS CAN'T END HERE!'_

The Devil gloated. Victory was his, finally. He had been afraid he had lost his head there for a moment, but that was preposterous. He was the Devil, the trickster himself. No one beat him in a game. No man could touch him. Not now, not ever.

"That may be true, but I'm not a man; I'm a memory!"The Devil suddenly felt a sharp, stinging pain in his side. Wait, pain? _'I haven't felt pain in… millenniums.'_

He wasn't used to pain, the last time someone hurt him was when Gabriel the arch angel himself punished him for wrecking havoc on earth. His head still ached in remembrance.

He was so appalled by the shock he lost concentration, releasing Luffy from his bubble. But that wasn't the top thing on the Devil's mind.

"WHO THE HEAVEN DID THAT?"

Spinning around furiously, flame protruding from every appendage so he looked very much like the older D. brother, he set his eyes on a little girl, holding a massive sword made out of… was that light?

"Kuina! How can you be here, isn't your sword like, really far away?"

Luffy called, lying drenched and panting on the ground.

Kuina smiled but didn't take her eyes of the Devil.

"Hey, Luffy. I managed to make myself appear here, though it is pretty straining. Willpower moves mountains, that's what our teacher always said."

The Devil watched the casual exchange of words with his mouth agape.

"WOULD YOU STOP CHIT-CHATTING? I'M TRYING TO KILL EVERYONE, HERE!"

Luffy, who had now stood up, bowed. "Very sorry, mister."

The Devil tore at his scalp in annoyance. Kuina shook her head. "AND DON'T APOLOGIZE!" Luffy seemed very confused, he had been taught to apologize when he interrupted people.

"Luffy, I can handle him for now, but I can't stay here forever. Go find your friends, they're off in the leaf forest." Luffy smiled, but shook his head wildly. "No thanks, Kuina. I promised Zoro I'd kick his ass, I can't go back on that."

Kuina sighed. "I know you want to teach him a lesson, Luffy, but let me handle this. You and the others need to get a move on. The longer you stay, the harder it'll be to get out." Luffy was about to protest. But Kuina interrupted him. "Luffy, strength means to accept help when you need it. Teacher said that, too. And right now, this is best for everyone. Don't make this harder." Luffy stood dumbstruck. He wanted to hit this guy so bad! He hadn't felt this angry at someone since… since Crocodile! "Luffy, trust me on this one, okay?"

But she was right.

Luffy smiled before taking off. "Okay, just make sure to give him a good kick in the shin for me, got it?" Kuina laughed, not just a giggle, but a laugh. "Got it, Lu!" The Devil looked like someone hat hit him over the head… hard. "I'm not about to just-" his speech was stopped due to a sword in the mouth.

"I can't finish you off, but I can stall you. Now fight me, demon."

'_Take care of Zoro for me, Luffy.'_

The Devil scoffed. "You? You're a girl!" Kuina suddenly looked a lot more menacing.

"Oh, you're going to regret that."

Luffy didn't hear what she had just thought, but Kuina could have sworn she heard a cheery voice in her head say _'You got it, Kuina!'_

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]] **

They had been running forever! The forest didn't seem to end, it just got more bumpy by the second!

Nami voiced her complaints. "Yeah, marimo, don't you have any idea what you're looking for? Don't tell me you get lost in your own mind!" Zoro thumbed Wadou open. "What was that, ero-cook?" before Nami hit them and told them to "Stop so much MEN or I'll kick you so hard between the legs you'll be girlier than me!", Zoro felt something odd about Wadou. It felt… empty?

When he landed face first on the ground, a large bump on his head, he set his eyes on something… familiar.

"Guys? I think I found our exit." Zoro said, pointing to a very worn-down hole in the hill.

"…that? Zoro, that is a hole. In the ground. What makes you think you should go down that hole?" Nami asked, in a very sarcastic tone, might I add. "I dunno, it feels right." Was Zoro's only response.

"Coming out of the closet, Zoro?" Sanji piped up. Both Zoro and Nami looked at him like he was insane, until it dawned on them what he meant.

"Sanji!" Nami was blushing furiously, realizing just how wrong that had sounded. Zoro, very surprisingly, busted out laughing along with Sanji. Nami watched with curious eyes. Sanji and Zoro were laughing.

Together. When they had been calling each other Marimo and Ero-cook not minutes before.

And Zoro didn't look like he had seen bloody murder…. Well, not as much, anyway.

Inside, Sanji was relieved to hear Zoro laughing, even if it did make him look like an idiot in font of his Nami-san. He looked far too dead before. Sometimes all you needed was a good, immature joke.

Before he could spare it another thought, they were all thrown to the side by an intruding force. An intruding force with a mass of black hair and a straw hat, and a force that was laughing like an idiot.

"LUFFY?"

Sanji and Nami immediately ran over to him, nearly trampling him down in the process. Luffy just looked around, looking all of them very carefully in the eye to make sure nothing was wrong, before his usual gin settled itself on his face. "Hey guys! Did we find the gate yet?"

"Yeah, we did, but that's not important here! Luffy, what the hell happened? Was beating the Devil that easy?" Nami kept flooding him with questions, along with the occasional remark from Sanji. Zoro didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. All the questions he wanted to ask were already spilling out of Nami's mouth.

Before Luffy could answer, a very loud, rumbling voice did.

"He didn't do anything, he had help!"

They all snapped their eyes to a figure leaning against a tree, albeit not as casually as it once did.

The Devil was back in his British gentleman form, only it was very tattered and shred. Obviously, he had been in a rough fight. He pointed a shaky finger at Luffy.

"He ran off, leaving some, some… spirit girl to attack me! He didn't do squat!" The Devil shouted, sounding like a kid denied his treat. Whiny and annoying, but if he starts throwing a tantrum, you're done for. Luffy blew his cheeks. "No way! I did too beat you!"

"Oh yeah? Just how? You didn't even touch me!"

"Maybe not, but she did, and she's my friend!" Luffy grinned. "My friends help me do what I can't do, and that's my strength. We won, either way." The Devil halted before mulling over this information.

"Well I'm not defeated yet! I WILL GET RID OF YOU ALL!"

At his words, the ground above the hole started crumbling down, sealing the entrance. "Quick! Get in!" Nami yelled before darting into the hole herself. Sanji was right behind her, both to make sure she wouldn't be harmed and to get a good view.

Zoro started in next, but not before flicking Luffy in the head. "Let's move, idiot! Don't just stand there!"

"Owie! I'm coming, I'm coming!" Zoro crawled into the hole, with Luffy behind him.

The Devil's powers didn't apply to this hole, because it was Zoro's gate, an in-between state between Hell and the Earthly world.

Casting one last look at the Devil, Luffy grimaced at him. All humour was lost from his face, leaving only stone-hard seriousness and rage so intense it actually sent a very, very slight shiver down the Devil's back.

"Don't fuck with my crew."

And with that, Luffy disappeared into the darkness of the hole, leaving a stunned Devil and his world.

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

It was dark, and damp, and the air smelled like dirt. Luffy could only faintly make out Zoro in front of him, but he heard Nami and Sanji's voice not too far away. "Down the rabbit hole? Really, Zoro?" Nami shouted over the rumbling and shaking all around them. "Well, I liked fairytales when I was a kid, so sue me!" You could almost hear Zoro's blushing.

Luffy, however, wasn't paying attention. He heard a voice in his head, the Devil's voice.

'_Why won't he just accept his defeat?' _Luffy thought desperately.

_**Now now, Monkey D. Luffy. I may be the Devil, but being quite the gambler, I know when I've lost. **_

_**Congratulations, captain. You beat the quick-silver trickster in his own game. As a reward, I'll do you a favour. Aren´t I the nicest guy?**_

_**Things will be just like before all this happened, before you knew me. I'll make you remember, though. I need something to make me be feared, right?**_

'_Can you really do that?' _Luffy thought back. _'You must be pretty powerful.'_

_**I am, Luffy. God aint got nothing on me. Don't get me wrong, though. I will get you, and your crew. If the captain is this interesting, the crew can't be too far off, eh?**_

_**I'll get you, Monkey D. Luffy.**_

_**Just you wait. **_

**[[[ONE WAY TICKET]]]**

Chopper waddled towards the door. For some reason, he couldn't find Luffy, Nami, Sanji or Zoro anywhere! He'd checked every single room on the ship except for this one. Reaching for the doorknob, he wondered just what they could have been doing in there. He stood on the tips of his hoofs, stretching as far as he could to reach the knob. If only he wasn't so small…

The door suddenly opened, making Chopper give out a yelp and topple over. Out of the room came Nami, followed by Sanji and Zoro. All of them looked disoriented, blinking against the sparkling sunlight.

"Guys? What were you doing in there?"

Usopp walked over to them, picking Chopper up while he was at it.

"I, uh…" Nami trailed off, looking at Sanji and Zoro for support, who only shrugged.

"I can't remember." She finished, frowning.

"Oh? That's weird, maybe you fell asleep? Everyone slept in this morning, even Robin. Well I, captain Usopp, had the most amazing dream! I was bravely protecting the ship when we were under attack, but suddenly, a cannonball cam right at me! Sanji, Nami, Zoro, and Luffy were all mortally wounded, and Robin and Chopper had their hands full, so 'twas only I to stop it! It sped towards me, threatening to crush my every bone!"

Chopper tugged at his bandana. "Really? Oh no! What happened next?"

"I evaded it, of course. See, I was so quick to move not only did the cannonball not hit me, it went right over our ship without damaging anything!" Usopp intended to continue his story when Zoro grabbed his nose.

"…uh, may I helb you, Zodo?" Usopp asked. Zoro narrowed his eyes and gave his nose an experimental tug. Usopp squeaked and slapped Zoro's hand away.

"Zoro, is everything okay?" Chopper asked, but was picked up by Zoro's big hands.

He shivered in his grasp, writhing under Zoro's stare, but laughed when Zoro poked him in the stomach. Robin looked up from her book hearing the commotion, only to meet Zoro's intense gaze. She didn't waver, only tilted her head slightly. He looked deep into her eyes, which was unusual for him since he usually avoided direct contact with her, then his eyes drifted to her hands. He seemed relieved to find them grasping a book, and looked back into her eyes to give her a barely noticeable smile. She didn't understand the sudden act of casualty, but smiled back nonetheless and continued reading. Zoro walked over to the railing, sitting himself down with his hands behind his head. He didn't know why, but he just had this nagging feeling he had to make sure everyone was okay…

Maybe it was something he ate.

**-"-**

Luffy stepped out of the room. He noticed that the circle Usopp had drawn under Robin's instructions had disappeared, but the floor was warm where it had been.

On the deck, everything was abnormally normal. Usopp was telling Chopper about some dream he had, only he changed the dream into reality… Chopper wouldn't know the difference.

Robin was reading with Nami sunbathing next to her, Sanji offering them cocktails and eyeing Nami's bikini. And Zoro…

Zoro was sleeping. Everything really was back to normal. Luffy was shocked to find himself thanking the Devil in his head.

**-"- **

Zoro looked up when a shadow intruded his vision behind his eyelids. The shadow turned out to be Luffy, who quickly moved out of his line of vision to sit next to Zoro.

Zoro could sense something off about his captain. "Luffy? Everything all right?" he asked, his slight concern hidden by the drawl in his voice. Luffy looked at him, for a few seconds too long, before sighing and laying back. "If you're okay then I'm okay."

Zoro shrugged but said nothing. His captain would tell him if he wanted, and if it was truly important, he'd find out sooner or later anyway. For now, he just wanted to enjoy the dazzling sun he found himself very grateful for, for some reason.

Luffy smiled and closed his eyes.

No, nothing would be just like before, but that was the fun of adventures. Nothing was ever the same. Memories couldn't be erased, only pushed back, and they would resurface in the end, perhaps trough dreams. Zoro, his loyal first mate, having been trough all he had would undoubtedly have nightmares about his experience. And when he did, Luffy would be right by his bed, perhaps a little to the left, ready with whatever his swordsman needed to feel better.

Right by his side, always.

Because that's what friends do.

_Wheels came off but I'm still on track_

_I bought a one way ticket to Hell…_

_And back!_

_**~END~ **_

* * *

**This is it, people! Thanks for staying with me for all this time! (Un?) fortunately, this won't be the last you hear from me. I already have another idea for a chapter story in my mind, so it's only a matter of time. This is your last chance, now, so review!**

**UNTIL NEXT TIME~!**


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